A lawyer representing the former WWE employee who claims she was sexually assaulted and trafficked by Vince McMahon has said “depravity” and the allegations in the lawsuit are “in its own league.”
Ann Callis represents Janel Grant, an ex-WWE employee who claims McMahon forced her to have sex with WWE icons and executives.
Grant worked in the company’s legal and talent departments and claims McMahon also defecated on her and used sex toys on her during a threesome, aggressively injuring her.
Callis claims the horrors Grant suffered at the hands of McMahon are nothing like anything she has encountered throughout her career – including nearly a decade as a criminal judge overseeing some of the most brutal assaults and murders.
Janel Grant (pictured) is suing McMahon, the WWE and another company executive
Ann Callis, right, is Janel Grant’s attorney. She spoke to Ashleigh Banfield, left
Wrestling personality Vince McMahon has resigned from WWE’s parent company amid sex trafficking allegations
“The sexual slavery that she endured, the devastating effects that happened to her physically and mentally while she was going through this and is still suffering from this with PTSD – she had suicidal thoughts,” Callis said. NewsNation’s Ashleigh Banfield.
‘I have been a criminal judge for nine years dealing with cases of murder and assault, but this is in a league of its own from the depravity she has had to endure.’
The bomb charges were filed Thursday in federal court in Connecticut, where WWE is based.
The lawsuit includes allegations that McMahon, now 78, forced Grant into a sexual relationship to get her to get and keep a job, and that he passed pornographic photos and videos of her to other men, including other WWE employees.
“We’re going against the WWE, a multi-billion dollar company that turns a blind eye to what happens there. McMahon is also a multi-billionaire and a powerful person in his own right. The only weapon we have are the true facts and the details of the complaint,” Callis explained.
Vince McMahon is at the center of a sex trafficking lawsuit filed Thursday
Another former WWE executive John Laurinaitis was also named in the filing – two years after he was fired from the company
The above text, included in Grant’s file, reportedly shows McMahon instructing her to have sex with WWE executive John Laurinaitis
Grant also names as defendants in the lawsuit the WWE and John Laurinaitis, an ex-pro wrestler and former head of talent relations and general manager of the company.
According to the lawsuit, McMahon lived in the same building as Grant and in 2019 offered to get her a job with WWE after her parents died.
She claims he eventually made it clear that one of the requirements of the job was a physical relationship with him, and later with Laurinaitis and others.
Over the next few years, McMahon showered her with gifts, including a luxury car, the complaint said.
It is also alleged that McMahon offered one of his star wrestlers – a person not named in the lawsuit – sex with Ms. Grant as a perk in 2021.
“WWE benefited financially from the commercial sex act orchestrated by McMahon, including because wrestling talent, such as WWE Superstar, signed new contracts with WWE after McMahon presented Plaintiff as a sexual asset for their use,” the lawsuit states.
Callis said Grant hopes more victims will come forward now that the allegations have been made public.
“She has been devastated, dehumanized, thrown away and she is truly a destroyed person, but she is incredibly resilient and incredibly courageous,” Callis said. “She displayed a sexual deviance from Vince McMahon, which has been overlooked by the WWE, so I think she will survive any investigation.
“Ms. Grant hopes her lawsuit will prevent other women from being victimized,” her attorney Callis said in a statement.
“The organization is well aware of Mr. McMahon’s history of depraved behavior, and it is time for them to take responsibility for the misconduct of its leadership.”
Last year, the Wall Street Journal had reported how WWE was investigating an alleged $3 million payment made by McMahon to a woman who left the company after a consensual affair.
Grant claims she received a $1 million payment after signing a non-disclosure agreement.
She is now seeking unspecified monetary damages and wants the court to void the $3 million dollar non-disclosure agreement, of which she claims she only received $1 million dollars.
Further investigation also revealed how McMahon allegedly paid out $14.6 million to a number of women who accused him of sexual misconduct.
McMahon denies the lawsuit’s allegations but announced Friday that he is stepping down as executive chairman of WWE’s parent company, TKO Group Holdings.
TKO Group has said it takes the allegations seriously and will address them internally.
“Mr. McMahon has no control over TKO nor does he oversee the day-to-day operations of WWE,” TKO Group said earlier this week. “While this matter predates our TKO management team’s tenure at the company, we are taking Ms. Grant’s horrific allegations very seriously and are discussing this matter internally.”
Mr. McMahon stepped down as CEO of WWE in 2022 amid an investigation into allegations similar to those in the lawsuit.
“I stand by my previous statement that Ms. Grant’s lawsuit is full of lies, obscene fabrications that never happened, and is a vindictive distortion of the truth,” McMahon said in a statement.
World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) headquarters in Stamford, Connecticut
“I intend to vigorously defend myself against these baseless allegations and look forward to clearing my name.”
McMahon was the leader and most recognizable face in WWE for decades.
When he bought what was then the World Wrestling Federation from his father in 1982, wrestling matches took place in smaller venues and appeared on local TV channels.
WWE matches are now held in professional sports stadiums, and the organization has a significant following abroad.
WWE merged with the company that runs Ultimate Fighting Championship last April to create the $21 billion sports-entertainment company TKO Group Holdings, with McMahon serving as executive chairman of that group’s board of directors until Friday.