Netflix executive Bela Bajaria gave a blunt eight-word response when asked about the sex trafficking allegations facing former WWE CEO Vince McMahon.
A lawsuit has been filed by former WWE employee Janel Grant against former executives McMahon and John Laurinaitis.
McMahon resigned last week as executive chairman of TKO – the company created by Endeavor after the $21 billion merger of WWE and UFC in September. It followed after sponsors pulled out WWE in light of Janel Grant’s lawsuit.
His departure came days after Netflix announced it would become the exclusive home of WWE’s flagship show Monday Night Raw in the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom and Latin America.
Bajaria, Netflix’s chief content officer, was asked at a press event about the allegations faced by McMahon following the deal reportedly worth $5 billion (£4 billion).
Former WWE CEO Vince McMahon is the subject of a sexual abuse and human trafficking lawsuit
Netflix executive Bela Bajaria gave a blunt answer when asked about McMahon following a press event after the streaming giant struck a deal to show Monday Night Raw starting in 2025
‘He is gone. So he’s not there. He’s gone,” Bajaria said, according to the Hollywood reporter.
Grant has accused McMahon, a 78-year-old billionaire, of sex trafficking, claiming, among other things, that he defecated on her head during a threesome.
Grant, who previously agreed to a $3 million settlement in exchange for signing a non-disclosure agreement in 2022, filed a new lawsuit last week against McMahon, the WWE and a former executive.
In that filing, which was obtained by DailyMail.com, Grant claims McMahon stopped making payments after the first $1 million installment, and she is now seeking to have that agreement void.
McMahon initially retired in the summer of 2022 amid a series of sexual misconduct allegations.
He attempted to return to the company six months later, but Triple H, Vince’s daughter Stephanie and president Nick Khan all voted against his return.
McMahon eventually returned and became executive chairman of TKO following the WWE-UFC merger.
“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 to DailyMail.com after the trial.
“I intend to vigorously defend myself against these baseless allegations and look forward to clearing my name.”
Janel Grant has accused Vince McMahon of sex trafficking, among other things
McMahon resigned last week and vowed to vigorously defend himself against the allegations
WWE executive and retired wrestler John Laurinaitis is also named as a defendant in the lawsuit. Laurinaitis was fired from the WWE in 2022.
In a statement to VICE News On Thursday, Laurinaitis’ lawyer said his client was also a victim, telling the newspaper that “the truth will come out.”
‘Mr. Laurinaitis denies the allegations in the misleading complaint and will vigorously defend these allegations in court, not the media. Like the plaintiff, Mr. Laurinaitis is a victim in this case, not a predator. The truth will come out,” Laurinaitis’ attorney said.
The lawsuit emerged two days after Netflix announced a £4 billion deal to stream Raw from January 2025, marking the first time the program has left linear television for the first time since its inception in 1993.
Netflix will also play host to the company’s premium live events, while other documentaries and original series will also be made available on the platform.
Brandon Riegg, vice president at the streaming giant, said Netflix is ”bullish” on WWE’s potential audience.
“The truth is, we don’t know how much bigger it can get,” Riegg said.
“I think we’re all very optimistic about it, but we know this has had an incredibly consistent audience over the decades.
“And so that’s primarily where we start and then we’ll see where we go.”