Because of claims of sexual abuse and trafficking, Vince McMahon quit his job as executive chairman of the board at TKO Group Holdings, the company that owns WWE and UFC.
Variety said that McMahon quit because former WWE employee Janel Grant sued him. From the lawsuit, it’s clear that McMahon, John Laurinaitis, who used to be the head of talent relations for WWE, and the WWE itself broke the Trafficking Victims Prevention Act. McMahon and Laurinaitis also used Grant “for their pleasure and as a pawn to secure talent deals with prospective wrestlers they were recruiting,” the report says.
In a statement, McMahon also denied these claims and said he would fight to “defend myself against these baseless accusations.”
“I stand by what I said before: Ms Grant’s lawsuit is full of lies, obscene made-up events that never happened and an unfair twisting of the truth,” McMahon said. “I’m going to fight these false accusations with all my might, and I’m looking forward to clearing my name.” But out of respect for the WWE Universe, the excellent TKO business, its board members, shareholders, partners, and constituents, as well as all of the employees and Superstars who helped make WWE the world leader it is today, I have decided to step down as executive chairman and from the TKO board of directors right away.
Nick Khan, President of WWE and a member of the TKO board, also sent an internal message that told people about the news, which Variety saw.
CNN reported that Nick Khan, president of WWE and a member of the TKO board, told staff in an email that Vince McMahon had tendered his resignation as Executive Chairman of TKO and as a member of the TKO Board of Directors. “He will no longer work for WWE or TKO Group Holdings.”
People have said bad things about McMahon before, and he has retired from the WWE. There were claims in 2022 that McMahon had made a separation agreement with a former female employee and paid her $3 million for an affair. The report also claims that they found more possible payouts and legal agreements McMahon and Lauinaitis had with other women.
It had been about a month since McMahon “voluntarily stepped back” from his role as CEO and chairman of WWE because of these accusations. He then announced that he was leaving the company. He did, however, return to WWE’s board in January 2023.