SUMMARY
- Janel Grant took a brave step by filing a lawsuit against Vince McMahon.
- According to the lawsuit, McMahon used to give gifts to Janel Grant to keep her under his control.
Vince McMahon has been amid controversy throughout his career. The co-founder and former CEO of WWE has again been in the news for the wrong reasons. He is credited for making professional wrestling a global phenomenon and has seen huge success. But at the same time, he was accused of various misconducts and harassment throughout his career.
In a recent event, former WWE employee Janel Grant took a brave step and filed a lawsuit against Vince McMahon. The lawsuit also names John Laurinaitis, the former head of talent relations, as a defendant. She accused Vince of s*xual harassment and trafficking in disguise of fake career growth promises.
A woman who received a payout from WWE boss Vince McMahon has accused McMahon, the company and a former executive of sex trafficking in a new lawsuit that raises questions about the breadth of an internal company probe conducted by a law firm last year.
Janel Grant, a former… pic.twitter.com/8JzLU7HFlr
— Wrestle Ops (@WrestleOps) January 25, 2024
According to the lawsuit, Vince allegedly assaulted her s*xually in a locked office at the WWE headquarters in Stamford on June 15, 2021. A similar incident happened with her on June 23, the same year, after which she received $15,000 in Bloomingdale’s gift cards through McMahon’s assistant.
According to the lawsuit, McMahon used to give gifts to Janel Grant to keep her under his control. In 2022, she received a BMW 430XI, a $5,000 gift certificate at Landphier Spa, a gold and diamond pave paperclip necklace from Betteridge in Greenwich, CT, etc.
With regards to the new sex trafficking lawsuit:
Gifts Given to Plaintiff during Time with WWE and Association with Vince McMahon:
From 2019 until early 2022, McMahon provided Ms. Grant with “gifts” to keep her
under McMahon’s control. Upon information and belief, the gifts… pic.twitter.com/KlDjjXAwaE— Wrestle Ops (@WrestleOps) January 25, 2024
Earlier in 2020, she received a pearl/diamond pave lariat necklace from Betteridge in Greenwich, CT. Further, she received $20,000 towards surgery, which was directly paid at the surgeon’s office, and many expensive luxury clothing items. These included a blue cashmere knee-length cardigan (Nordstrom), a blue Burberry check cashmere scarf, etc.
Prior to this, in 2019, she received Clubhouse Access tickets to the Belmont Stakes, WrestleMania private full-day transportation and premium tickets, a $2,000 Nordstrom gift card, and a massive box of Godiva.
Janel Grant was reportedly forced to sign an NDA after Vince McMahon’s wife found out
In 2022, Janel Grant was asked to resign from her position at WWE after Vince told her that his wife Linda had found out about their alleged affair. But she was not let go before some formal agreements.
He forces Janel to sign a ‘Non-Disclosure Agreement’ (NDA) to keep her quiet about what happened to her. She was also assured that Mr. McMahon would take care of her reputation and financial well-being by giving her $3 million. However, McMahon only paid $1 million in February 2022 and failed to pay the rest of the sum to Janel.
Why did Grant decide to file a lawsuit against Vince McMahon?
According to Janel’s lawyer, Ann Callis, Grant was s*xually and mentally abused by Vince. When Ann was asked about what Grant wanted to accomplish from the lawsuit, she explained that the former WWE employee wanted her life back and to help other victims.
Ann also quoted Grant’s statement: “She hopes any doors of secrecy have been blown off their hinges and that fresh air fills the headquarters and she hopes those at the company past in present who fears speaking out about harm is a thing of the past she wishes everyone peace”. Callis implied that she filed a suit to expose the truth and help others like her.
This lawsuit has hugely tarnished the image of Vince McMahon, and he has already resigned from his positions at WWE and TKO Group. It will be interesting to see how the case proceeds further.
