Vince McMahon has resigned as executive chairman of TKO – the company created by Endeavor following the $21 billion merger of WWE and UFC in September.
It comes after a former WWE employee this week accused the 78-year-old billionaire of sex trafficking, claiming he defecated on her head during a threesome, among other things.
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Janel Grant, who previously agreed to a $3 million settlement in exchange for signing a non-disclosure agreement in 2022, filed a new lawsuit this week against McMahon, the WWE and a former executive.
Vince McMahon has reportedly resigned as executive chairman of TKO
Janel Grant (pictured) is suing Vince McMahon, the WWE and another company executive
In that filing, which was obtained by DailyMail.com, Grant claims that McMahon – who denies the allegations – stopped making payments after the first $1 million installment, and she is now seeking to have that agreement void.
Additionally, Grant claims she suffered bruising and bleeding after McMahon forcibly penetrated her with sex toys, which he named after his wrestlers.
She also claims that in June 2021, McMahon and another WWE executive locked her in a room at WWE headquarters in Stamford, Connecticut, and took turns sexually assaulting her during the workday.
“I wanted to let you know that Vince McMahon has resigned as Executive Chairman of TKO and from the TKO Board of Directors,” WWE President and TKO board member Nick Khan said in an email to Variety staff.
“He will no longer have a role with TKO Group Holdings or WWE.”
The WWE previously described McMahon’s sexual relationship with Grant as “consensual” in a 2022 statement.
WWE executive and retired wrestler John Laurinaitis is also named as a defendant in the lawsuit. Laurinaitis was fired from the WWE in 2022.
Grant started working for the WWE in 2019 and joined the company during a difficult time in her life, according to the filing.
“The two met in March 2019, when Ms. Grant was struggling with deep grief and financial difficulties — after years of providing around-the-clock care, her parents died,” the filing said. ‘Moreover, she was unemployed and her parental home was lost due to her parents’ bankruptcy.
“While McMahon dangled career-making and life-changing promises in front of Ms. Grant, he showed an increasing lack of boundaries.
“During several meetings ostensibly about a possible job with WWE, he greeted her in his underwear, touched her, repeatedly asked for hugs and spent hours sharing intimate details about his personal life.
The WWE founder has strongly denied the allegations in the lawsuit, calling Grant’s claims “obscene.”
PHOTO: World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) headquarters in Stamford, Connecticut
“Despite Ms. Grant’s expressions and attempts to end the sexual relationship — and although she came to understand that McMahon expected the physical relationship to continue as part of her job — she had no idea how nasty it would get, nor how the psychological relationship would continue. Torture and physical violence would make her feel helpless, isolated and trapped.”
In April, it was announced that WWE would be sold to the Endeavor group and merged together with UFC to form a brand new company: TKO.
Endeavor – owner of UFC – has a 51 percent stake in the combined company, while WWE shareholders own 49 percent.
Earlier on Friday, it emerged that TKO may not have been able to fire the WWE founder completely due to a clause surrounding his appointment in their Certificate of Incorporation.
Section 7.2 of the charter states: ‘Vincent K. McMahon shall serve as Executive Chairman of the Board of Directors (the “Executive Chairman”) until the earliest of his death, resignation or incapacity.
‘Any vacancy of the Executive Chairman (which, if Mr. McMahon is the original Executive Chairman, shall only arise initially upon the death, resignation or incapacity of Mr. McMahon) shall be filled by the Board of Directors at a positive vote of a majority of the members of the Board of Directors. The directors.’
This week, the conglomerate’s board of directors underwent a reshuffle with the appointment of Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson to the roster.
Fellow wrestler Paul Levesque (Triple H) was named Chief Content Officer of WWE, a role previously held by McMahon in 2022.
The scandal couldn’t have come at a worse time for WWE: The Royal Rumble, one of their major pay-per-view shows, was scheduled to take place in Florida on Saturday.
More to follow.