Vince McMahon Resigns From WWE Parent Company Following Allegations of Sex Trafficking
RW/MediaPiunch/IPX via AP
WWE co-founder Vince McMahon resigned from his position as executive chairman at the WWE and UFC parent company TKO Group Holdings on Friday following accusations of sex trafficking and abuse.
McMahon announced his resignation on Friday evening, insisting that while the allegations were “replete with lies,” he would leave his position out of respect for the company.
“I stand by my prior statement that Ms. Grant’s lawsuit is replete with lies, obscene made-up instances that never occurred, and is a vindictive distortion of the truth,” said McMahon. “I intend to vigorously defend myself against these baseless accusations, and look forward to clearing my name.”
He continued:
However, out of respect for the WWE Universe, the extraordinary TKO business and its board members and shareholders, partners and constituents, and all of the employees and Superstars who helped make WWE into the global leader it is today, I have decided to resign from my executive chairmanship and the TKO board of directors, effective immediately.
WWE president Nick Khan confirmed McMahon’s departure in an email to staffers, declaring that McMahon would “no longer have a role with TKO Group Holdings or WWE.”
McMahon’s resignation came just one day after a bombshell lawsuit accused him of sex trafficking and assaulting one of his employees.
In her lawsuit, Janel Grant accused McMahon of locking her in a room and sexually assaulting her, defecating on her head, and trafficking her to others at WWE after she was hired by the company.
While Grant signed a non-disclosure agreement in 2022, she alleged that McMahon had failed to pay her the full amount of $3 million stated in the agreement.
McMahon – who famously had his head shaved by former President Donald Trump during WWE’s “Battle of the Billionaires” event in 2007 – has had a close relationship with the 45th president.
McMahon’s wife, Linda McMahon, was appointed administrator of the Small Business Administration by Trump in 2017.
