Vince McMahon, founder of WWE and CEO of the TKO group, resigned on Friday amid allegations that he harassed a former employee, which he denied, adding to previous misconduct allegations against the wrestling magnate.
According to The Wall Street Journal, earlier this week, former WWE employee Janel Grant, a woman who claimed to have been offered $3 million to sign a secrecy agreement to keep quiet about her alleged affair with McMahon, filed a bombshell lawsuit against McMahon, alleging, among other things, that he pressured her to have sex with him and others in the company—claims she said she will “vigorously defend” against.
A spokesperson for McMahon said Grant’s lawsuit was “riddled with lies, salacious fabricated claims that never occurred, and a vindictive skewing of the truth,” according to The Wall Street Journal.
TKO noted that the allegations predate its creation after the merger of WWE and Endeavor, the controlling company of the Ultimate Fighting Championship, but that the company was still taking the “horrific allegations” seriously and addressing the matter internally, according to multiple outlets.
McMahon stated that he plans to “vigorously defend” against the lawsuit but would resign “out of respect” for WWE and TKO.
With information from The Wall Street Journal and Forbes
