In January 2024, Janel Grant, a former WWE employee and paralegal, filed a federal lawsuit in Connecticut accusing longtime WWE owner Vince McMahon and former WWE head of talent relations John Laurinaitis of sexual assault, coercive control, and sex trafficking. Grant alleged that McMahon recruited other individuals, including Laurinaitis, into sexual encounters involving her and that the conduct continued until 2022. She also claimed that WWE insiders knew about the alleged behavior and helped conceal it. The lawsuit sought to void a non-disclosure agreement under the federal Speak Out Act; the agreement had reportedly promised Grant $3 million for her silence, although she alleged that McMahon attempted to assault her again after it was signed and later withheld payments. McMahon denied the allegations and said he would vigorously defend himself, while Laurinaitis's lawyer portrayed him as another victim of McMahon's coercive control.
The timing magnified the corporate shock. The lawsuit arrived days after WWE finalized a reported $5 billion, ten-year Netflix rights agreement and as Dwayne Johnson joined the TKO board. Sponsor Slim Jim briefly pulled its support from the 2024 Royal Rumble, and on January 26 McMahon resigned as executive chairman of TKO after meeting with TKO executives Ari Emanuel and Mark Shapiro. The fallout also reached Brock Lesnar, whose planned Royal Rumble appearance and subsequent storylines were canceled, while his WWE video-game appearances were removed. The U.S. Department of Justice later requested a six-month stay of the civil case while it conducted a criminal investigation. In January 2025, the Securities and Exchange Commission announced that McMahon would pay a $400,000 fine and reimburse WWE $1.3 million over undisclosed non-disclosure agreements, including a 2019 agreement for $7.5 million and a 2022 agreement reportedly connected to Grant; the SEC action concerned false accounting and did not resolve the underlying criminal or civil allegations. Laurinaitis settled with Grant in May 2025 and agreed to provide evidence, while the broader case remained contested and was later moved toward private arbitration. The accusations themselves remained allegations rather than a final judicial finding in the supplied account.
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