Vince McMahon Steps Down From WWE Parent Company TKO Group After Sex Abuse Case By Ex-Employee
Vincent Kennedy McMahon, popularly known as Vince McMahon has stepped down from his position as executive chairman of the board of directors of TKO Group Holdings, the parent company of WWE.
McMahon, arguably the most famous pro-wrestling promoter in the world announced his resignation on Friday after an ex-employee filed a federal lawsuit accusing him and another former executive of serious sexual misconduct, including offering her to a star wrestler for sex.
Who is Janel Gran
The complainant, Janel Gran who insisted on her identity being made public was a former employee at the WWE¡¯s legal and talent departments.
In her complaint, Grant alleged that McMahon forced her into a sexual relationship for her to get and keep a job and passed around pornographic pictures and videos of her to other men, including other WWE employees.
Grant has named WWE and John Laurinaitis, an ex-pro wrestler and the company¡¯s former head of talent relations and general manager as defendants in the lawsuit, while the name of the star wrestler, whom she was forced to have sex in 2021 has not been made public.
Allegations against McMahon
According to the lawsuit, McMahon lived in the same building as Grant and in 2019 offered to get her a job at WWE after her parents died.
She alleges that 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 lavished her with gifts including a luxury car, the suit says.
Past allegations against?McMahon
It should be noted that this is not the first time 78-year-old McMahon has faced sexual misconduct allegations.
McMahon, the then Chairman and CEO of WWE had retired from the company he had founded, in 2022 amid allegations of misconduct and paid $17.4 million to cover costs related to an investigation into that case.
However, in 2023 McMahon returned to WWE and oversaw its merger with Endeavor, which also owns Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) to form TKO Group Holdings.
What McMahon said about allegations?
WWE President Nick Khan wrote in a memo to employees that McMahon "will no longer have a role with TKO Group Holdings or WWE."
"I have decided to resign from my executive chairmanship and the TKO board of directors, effective immediately," McMahon said in a statement released by TKO.
McMahon denied the allegations in the statement, saying, "I intend to vigorously defend myself against these baseless accusations, and look forward to clearing my name."
¡°While this matter pre-dates our TKO executive team¡¯s tenure at the company, we take Ms. Grant¡¯s horrific allegations very seriously and are addressing this matter internally,¡± TKO Group said earlier this week.?
How Vince McMahon changed wrestling?
McMahon is credited with single-handedly changing pro wrestling from something that was organized by regional promotions to a global phenomenon.
McMahon purchased what was then World Wide Wrestling Federation (WWWF) a regional promotion from his father Vincent James McMahon in 1982. It was later renamed WWF and then WWE.?
Unlike other wrestling promoters of his time, McMahon did not limit his shows to one region and started invading other territories and also got some of their top talents to sign up for WWE.
This unconventional and controversial approach led to the explosion of WWE's popularity across the US and around the world, something that was unheard in pro wrestling till then.
Other than managing the TV shows of WWE, McMahon also became an on-screen personality, under the name of Mr. McMahon, portraying a villainous boss character, who would also wrestle, occasionally.
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