Former wrestlers call out WWE culture in wake of Vince McMahon lawsuit – By Ja’han Jones (MSNBC) / Feb 6, 2024
After the WWE founder was sued for sex trafficking and abuse, several former wrestlers who worked for him are expressing their concerns.
In a recently filed lawsuit, Vince McMahon, the founder and now-former head of World Wrestling Entertainment, was accused of sexually abusing and trafficking a former employee. He’s reportedly under federal investigation now.
McMahon and his lawyers dispute the allegations made by Janel Grant, who filed the suit, calling them “a vindictive distortion of the truth.” This is not the first scandal that McMahon has faced; he’s settled multiple sexual assault lawsuits in the past. (The Wall Street Journal reports that McMahon continued to deny any wrongdoing, and that other women who filed suits agreed not to discuss the details as part of the settlements.) He even “retired” over them — only to return months later. That history hangs over the latest allegations, as does the question of why the WWE allowed McMahon to return in the first place.
Grant’s lawyer told News Nation that her client “wants to speak out for any other victims and eradicate this culture of corruption that has permeated every cell of the WWE.”
The reactions of other former WWE wrestlers seem to support Grant’s claim of a corrupt culture. The comments paint McMahon as someone who wielded unmatched control over his largely nonunion talent.
