WWE’s Vince McMahon resigns after sexual assault and trafficking lawsuit
Al Jazeera
Former employee files lawsuit accusing McMahon and another executive of sexual assault, trafficking and emotional abuse.
Vince McMahon has resigned from wrestling giant TKO Group and the subsidiary World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) he founded after a lawsuit that accused him of sexual assault and trafficking.
McMahon stepped down from his position as executive chairman of the board of directors at WWE’s parent company, TKO Group Holdings, according to a statement released late on Friday.
Former employee Janel Grant sued the company, McMahon and former head of talent relations John Laurinaitis, alleging sexual assault, trafficking and emotional abuse.
Grant filed the complaint on Thursday in a court in the US state of Connecticut, where WWE is based, accusing McMahon of coercing her into a “sexual relationship”, sharing sexually explicit photos and videos of her with male colleagues, and subjecting her to “increasingly depraved sexual demands” that included sexual encounters with Laurinaitis and others.
McMahon’s statement said he was leaving the board “out of respect” for WWE and TKO Group.
