SPOTLIGHTED PODCAST ALERT (YOUR ARTICLE BEGINS A FEW INCHES DOWN)...
The lawsuit alleging Vince McMahon engaged in sex trafficking and sexual assault has received major coverage in national mainstream media entities. The following are some of the key excerpts from major outlets including what they chose to focus on or exclusive details they added to the developing story.
Headline…
WWE founder Vince McMahon is under federal investigation surrounding sex trafficking allegations, sources say
The revelation comes after a former employee sued McMahon last week alleging she was the victim of sexual assault and trafficking at WWE, and after his exit from its parent company, TKO Group.
Perhaps the most notable is NBC News citing sources that Vince McMahon remains under criminal investigation related to the matter. Excerpt:
“Former World Wrestling Entertainment CEO Vince McMahon is under federal criminal investigation as prosecutors try to determine if federal law was broken in conduct surrounding recent allegations of sex trafficking that have been made public in lawsuits, two people familiar with the matter told NBC News. … McMahon has also discussed being under federal investigation and having a phone seized by federal officials, a senior-level WWE executive and another personal friend told NBC News. … Nicholas Biase, a spokesperson for the U.S. Attorney’s Office, declined to comment.”
The story notes that John Laurinaitis’s lawyer said his client “vigorously denies the allegations raised against him in this lawsuit” and said they’ll respond in the appropriate forum eventually. The article notes some other allegations against Vince McMahon including Rita Chatterton, WWE’s first female referee, accusing McMahon of rape in 1992 and settling with McMahon out of court recently.
Headline…
Vince McMahon Faces New Wave of Sexual Assault Allegations, Cuts Ties With WWE (Again)
The article, over 750 words, details the lawsuit. The article begins with this framing of the week.
“The scene at the New York Stock Exchange on Tuesday seemed to be a happy one: Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson stood shoulder-to-shoulder with World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) co-founder Vince McMahon. The magnate and the action star were all smiles as he rang the exchange’s opening bell, a gesture intended to celebrate his move to join the board of the WWE’s parent company, TKO Group Holdings. Just a few days later, the makeup of TKO’s board would change again, but this time, McMahon was presumably less jolly. The 78-year-old abruptly resigned as the executive chairman of the board of directors on Friday after a former employee accused McMahon of sex trafficking, rape, and workplace harassment.”
The article goes on to note the “hush money” allegedly paid out to “keep secret allegations of sexual misconduct and infidelity,” leading to McMahon “temporarily” retiring in 2022.
This story noted McMahon was accused in 2006 of sexually assaulting a Florida tanning salon employee. McMahon was arrested, but after being charged with sexual battery, local authorities dropped the case.
A key line in the article implies Ari Emanuel looked the other way regarding the evidence and allegations of misconduct in McMahon’s recent and distant past.
“Despite the multiple scandals, McMahon—who owned the bulk of the WWE’s shares—returned to the company in 2023, where he was seemingly re-embraced by Johnson and others, including influential Hollywood figure Ari Emanuel. Emanuel’s company, Endeavor, merged with the WWE in 2023; the new parent organization, known as TKO, named McMahon its executive chairman.”
Another key part of the article focused on John Cena’s unwavering, rather gushing praise of McMahon even amidst evidence of misconduct and damning allegations from multiple women.
“(W)restler-turned-actor John Cena … told Variety that he “couldn’t be happier” for McMahon’s companies [earlier in the week regarding the Netflix-WWE deal and The Rock being added to the TKO board). “WWE’s always my family,” Cena said of the formerly McMahon-led org this week. “I’ll always be there in any capacity they’ll have me.”
Cena … has been a longtime supporter of McMahon’s. He addressed the earlier claims against McMahon in a 2023 interview with the Associated Press, saying then, “I love Vince McMahon. He’s everything you could want in a great friend, business partner, father, mentor. I love the man.” When asked about the allegations against McMahon, Cena replied, “When you love somebody, you take them as imperfectly perfect as they are. We all make mistakes, we all have poor decisions.”
It’s unclear if Cena continues to hold that view, and a request for comment was not responded to as of publication time.
Headline…
Donald Trump’s pal is under federal criminal investigation for alleged sex trafficking
The Palmer Report – a website focused primarily on Donald Trump’s corruption, misconduct, and grifting – noted that Trump and Vince McMahon have been friends and business partners for years. The brief article also noted McMahon’s wife, Linda McMahon, being involved in the Trump administration and fundraising.
Being friends with a bad person doesn’t necessarily mean that you’re guilty of whatever they turn out to be guilty of. For instance, a number of public figures who used to be social friends or acquaintances with Donald Trump are now quite apologetic about it, and disturbed at what a monster he turned out to be.
That said, Donald Trump and former WWE boss Vince McMahon aren’t mere social acquaintances. Vince McMahon’s wife Linda McMahon was in Trump’s cabinet. Trump named Vince McMahon to a Presidential task force. Now it turns out Vince McMahon is reportedly under federal criminal investigation in the wake of sex trafficking allegations against him. It’s reached a point where the Feds have seized McMahon’s phone from him.
But does it really surprise anyone that Donald Trump would be friends with such an (allegedly) awful person? After all, Trump has been branded a rapist by a trial jury, and he’s awaiting four criminal trials on charges including the Espionage Act.
Headline…
WWE’s Vince McMahon resigns amid sex abuse allegations
The article includes details of the lawsuit including the note that others in the organization knew of McMahon’s history yet continued to agree to have him in high positions in the company even after the ownership change last summer.
The lawsuit, filed by Janel Grant, alleges McMahon promised her career opportunities while sexually and physically abusing her, while she worked for the company and he was its CEO. It claims he attempted to sexually exploit her to men inside and outside the WWE and that he shared explicit photos and videos of her. She signed a $3 million nondisclosure agreement which McMahon stopped paying after $1 million, the lawsuit alleges.
“The organization is well aware of Mr. McMahon’s history of depraved behavior, and it’s time that they take responsibility for the misconduct of its leadership,” she added.
An article the previous day included even more details on the lawsuit.
“The former employee, Janel Grant, alleged in the lawsuit filed in Connecticut that she was sexually abused by McMahon while he was CEO of the WWE. According to the suit, McMahon promised Grant career opportunities while sexually and physically abusing her, as well as attempts to sexually exploit her to men inside and outside WWE, including a wrestler the company was trying to recruit.
The lawsuit accuses WWE, McMahon and John Laurinaitis, WWE’s former head of talent relations, of sex trafficking, negligence, civil battery and causing emotional distress. Grant is seeking to void her nondisclosure agreement that she said she signed in 2022. …
McMahon allegedly pressured Grant into signing the NDA. He also promised to protect her and pay $3 million, according to the lawsuit. She signed the agreement ‘in a state of mental defeat and fear from McMahon’s threats,’ the suit said. McMahon paid her $1 million ‘but failed to make any further payments,’ the suit said.”
Jerry McDevitt, who retired last year, declined to comment on the matter to the Washington Post, noting that he no longer represents McMahon. He was named in the NDA between McMahon and Grant.
The article noted that McMahon sold hundreds of millions of his TKO stock in November.
The article also excerpted part of the lawsuit that claimed McMahon cited his relationship with the Saudi Crown Prince as a reason to trust him.
“McMahon would often ask for sexually explicit photos and videos from Grant, who sometimes “expressed apprehension with his requests,” the lawsuit said. In response, McMahon asked why she didn’t trust him and reminded her ‘of his power and influence, such as by flaunting a meeting with the Saudi Crown Prince,’ according to the lawsuit.”
Most high-profile mainstream articles didn’t include details of the alleged involvement of “a former UFC Heavyweight Champion” with Grant – identified by the Wall Street Journal as Brock Lesnar, citing sources – but the Post article did.
Headline…
Report: Feds investigating WWE founder Vince McMahon sex-trafficking allegations
This article largely recapped what the Wall Street Journal had previously reported. Excerpt:
“Grant’s lawsuit alleged that McMahon put her through sexual acts that were done with ‘extreme cruelty and degradation.’ WWE’s former head of talent relations John Laurinaitis was also named in the suit.”
According to the Wall Street Journal, last summer federal agents searched McMahon’s phone looking for documents related to any allegation of ‘rape, sex trafficking, sexual assault, commercial sex transaction, harassment or discrimination’ against current or former WWE employees.
The Journal reported that Grant and at least four other women who had settlement agreements with McMahon after they accused him of sexual misconduct were named in a grand jury subpoena. Prosecutors in New York have interviewed some of the women, according to the report.
Headline…
Vince McMahon Is “Gone” and More Takeaways From Netflix’s Press Day
Netflix and WWE made headlines two days before the Wall Street Journal broke the story about the lawsuit against McMahon and Laurinaitis. The Hollywood Reporter reported Netflix content chief Bela Bajaria’s response. Excerpt:
“Bajaria wasted little time when asked if she had any concerns about McMahon following the unseemly allegations that surfaced about the now-former WWE exec a mere two days after Netflix announced the deal that will bring Raw to the streamer next January.
‘He’s gone. So he’s not there. He’s gone,’ Bajaria said of McMahon, who resigned Friday as TKO exec chairman and from the TKO board of directors after he was sued Jan. 25 over sex trafficking claims by a former employee.
The article included Bajaria saying they aren’t sure how much bigger WWE can get, but they’ll find out as they become the home of WWE programming outside of the U.S. and the home of WWE Raw in the U.S. starting next year. ‘I think we’re all really bullish on it, but we know that has an incredibly consistent audience for the last several decades,’ she said. ‘And so that’s really first and foremost where we’re starting at, and then we’ll see where we go from there.’
Headline…
The Rock posts on social media for first time since Vince McMahon “defecation” claims
Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson was added to the TKO board just two days before the lawsuit was filed. The Mirror’s sub-headline points out that Rock remained silent on the matter for days.
On Tuesday, Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson posted on his social media accounts for the first time since allegations were brought against former WWE boss Vince McMahon last week
It then detailed his social media post four days after McMahon resigned from TKO, which was a video talking about the importance of finally gaining rights to “The Rock” name from WWE/TKO. “I love this business, I love pro wrestling, I love WWE,” he said. “But also I have this deep passion to grow it and to build it and if we’re gonna do something like this, I want the world to watch.”
Headline…
Vince McMahon, WWE founder, resigns amid sex trafficking allegations
CNN ran a three minute story on air detailing the lawsuit last Thursday. It referred to the allegations as “explosive.”
A CNN Business article quoted Paul “Triple H” Levesque’s comments at the Royal Rumble press conference. The article characterized the allegations against McMahon as “horrifying.”
Many local newspapers and TV stations ran brief stories on McMahon, including WRAL in Raleigh, N.C., just over an hour away from where McMahon grew up in Pinehurst, N.C.
Leave a Reply
You must be logged in to post a comment.