A former WWE employee who was allegedly sexually abused by Vince McMahon broke her silence Friday, saying, “I hope the secret door is blown off its hinges.”
According to the complaint, Janelle Grant claims that the wrestling mogul forced her to have sex with wrestling stars and other WWE executives, and that McMahon also defecated on her head during a threesome and assaulted wrestlers. He also added more ridiculous charges, including using a sex toy named after him on his girlfriend. It was filed Thursday.
“She wants to make sure that those in the company, past and present, who are afraid to speak out about harm will be a thing of the past,” Grant said in a statement read by St. Louis-based attorney Anne Callis. I hope so.”
“She prays for peace for them all.”
Kallis made this statement in an interview on the podcast “Law&Crime.” “Angenette Levy's Crime Solving”
The interview will be streamed Friday night.
Grant, 43, of Stamford, Conn., filed the lawsuit Thursday.
A spokesperson for Mr. McMahon said the lawsuit is full of “falsities, baseless fabrications of events that never happened, and malicious distortions of the truth.”
“Mr. McMahon intends to vigorously defend against these allegations,” the spokesperson said.
her lawsuit is coming After the Wall Street Journal reported that Last year, WWE investigated allegations that McMahon paid $3 million to a female employee who left the company because of a consensual affair.
Grant, who was anonymous at the time, alleges in a new lawsuit that she received an initial installment of $1 million, but was never paid any more.
A subsequent investigation found that Mr. McMahon paid $14.6 million to several women who accused him of sexual misconduct.
According to the complaint, McMahon also allegedly shared nude photos and explicit videos of Grant with other WWE employees without her consent.
He once locked her in a private locker room at WWE headquarters in Stamford and forced her onto a massage table, according to the complaint.
WWE bosses also allegedly directed Grant to have sex with other executives and professional wrestlers, according to the complaint.
Former WWE head of talent relations John Laurinaitis, who is named as a defendant in the suit, was allegedly recruited by McMahon to have sex with Grant.
Grant was asked by McMahon to visit Laurinaitis in his hotel room, where they had sex before work, the lawsuit alleges.
During an encounter at WWE offices in June 2021, McMahon and Laurinaitis forced themselves on her, and the other one took turns restraining her, the lawsuit alleges.
According to the complaint, some of the things McMahon and Laurinaitis said to Grant during the assault included, “No means yes” and “Hold on, man.”
In July 2021, McMahon instructed Grant to create sexual content on his cell phone and send it to former UFC star Brock Lesnar, who WWE was trying to sign at the time.
Last July, federal law enforcement officers executed a search warrant and served a federal grand jury subpoena on Mr. McMahon, according to regulatory filings.
WWE said in a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission that the government investigation into McMahon continues, but no charges have been filed.
The company said it has received voluntary and mandatory legal requests, including from federal law enforcement and regulatory agencies, for documents related to the investigation and related subjects.
Grant's lawsuit comes just months after WWE was acquired by Endeavor, a sports entertainment company owned by super agent Ari Emanuel.
Endeavor and WWE have jointly formed TKO Group, bringing the wrestling brand under the same corporate umbrella as the UFC.
“Mr. McMahon does not control TKO and does not oversee the day-to-day operations of WWE,” a TKO spokesperson told the Thursday Post.
“While this matter predates the tenure of our TKO management team, we take Mr. Grant's horrific allegations very seriously and are addressing this matter internally.”
