TKO’s Executive Chairman has denied sex trafficking allegations.
Yesterday saw the revelation of Vince McMahon and John Laurinaitis being sued by former WWE employee Janel Grant for sex trafficking in a complaint that accuses McMahon of numerous instances of sexual, physical, and emotional abuse. Amongst the allegations filed with the US federal court in Connecticut on Thursday, Grant describes being sexually assaulted by both men in graphic detail.
Later in the day, a spokesperson for McMahon told Deadline that TKO’s Executive Chairman intends to “vigorously” defend himself, labelling the allegations as being “made-up.”
“This lawsuit is replete with lies, obscene made-up instances that never occurred, and a vindictive distortion of the truth. He will vigorously defend himself.”
-A spokesperson for Vince McMahon
TKO additionally released their own statement on the matter to Variety, where the multimedia conglomerate made clear that McMahon does not control TKO, nor does he control the day-to-day operations of WWE.
Despite this, it remains unclear as to whether TKO has the power to oust McMahon from the company, as Brandon Thursday of Wrestlenomics details below.
Unclear TKO can unilaterally force Vince McMahon out as Executive Chairman and may instead need to somehow convince him to resign if they want him gone.
— Brandon Thurston (@BrandonThurston) January 26, 2024
From TKO's Certificate of Incorporation:
"7.2 Executive Chair. Notwithstanding Section 7.1(b), Vincent K. McMahon shall serve…
Additionally, Wrestlenomics were able to hear from a source close to Janel Grant who noted that she’s relieved that the information within the lawsuit is now public, although she maintains that feels she is a broken person following her encounters with McMahon.
“A source close to Grant told Wrestlenomics on Friday that she’s relieved to have the information in the lawsuit become public and grateful for the support she’s received, though she is a broken person from her interactions with McMahon.”
-Wrestlenomics
It’s important to stress that the link to the court filing comes with a trigger warning, as some may find its contents distressing.
As always, we’ll aim to provide any further updates on the allegations against McMahon as soon as we hear more.
