In response to the allegations of sexual assault and trafficking, Vince McMahon has formally filed a motion seeking arbitration and denying the accusations against him. Former WWE employee Janel Grant made these claims in her lawsuit in late January. Janel also named John Laurinaitis and WWE in her lawsuit.
The allegations of abuse and sexual exploitation against Vince McMahon during Grant’s tenure in WWE resulted in his departure from the organization and TKO.
POST Wrestling is reporting that McMahon’s legal team has responded to the lawsuit, denying the allegations against him and seeking to move the case into arbitration.
Vince McMahon has denied the charges, with the filing stating,
“By publicly filing her salacious, false, and defamatory Complaint, Plaintiff has brazenly and intentionally violated a binding contract to arbitrate. The Complaint’s outrageous claims of sexual abuse and coercion are pure fiction—plainly intended to garner publicity—and are flatly contradicted by Plaintiff’s own contemporaneous statements. Contrary to Plaintiff’s false allegations, Plaintiff and Defendant engaged in a consensual relationship during which Defendant never coerced Plaintiff into doing anything and never mistreated her in any way.”
The legal filing asserts that specific claims made by Grant regarding experiencing profound grief over her parents’ death and facing financial difficulties are untrue.
The legal document argues that Grant’s father passed away in April 2017, whereas her mother had already passed away before.
Additionally, the filing alleges that Grant and Vince McMahon were in separate romantic relationships when they got involved.
The filing further states that Grant stayed in her long-time fiancé, lawyer Brian Goncalves’ condo, four floors below McMahon’s, and would occasionally visit the 78-year-old billionaire at his residence.
The filing notes that “It is nonsensical that the disturbing alleged acts in the Complaint including violence, coerced sex, and forcing Plaintiff to be defecated on were taking place before Plaintiff returned to her lawyer fiancé four floors below without incident.”
Vince McMahon and Grant agreed to resolve their disputes through a confidential settlement after their relationship terminated in January 2022.
Furthermore, any disagreements arising from the agreement should be settled through arbitration, ensuring a fair and impartial resolution process.
McMahon has alleged that Grant violated the agreement by “wrongfully disclosing both the existence of the Agreement and their relationship,” at which point he exercised his contractual right to “withhold payment otherwise owed under the agreement.”
In a statement issued to Wrestlenomics, Grant’s lawyer states,
“Vince McMahon has never known a storyline that he doesn’t twist to fit his own shameful narrative. Her father was in in-home hospice during his final days where Janel continued to care for him around the clock. Prior to his death, she had been caring for her blind, wheelchair-bound mother. Using the grief of someone who lost both of her parents is an all new level of disgusting…”
“Her ex-boyfriend allowed her to stay in the apartment as she rebuilt her life and resume post-taking care of her parents. She had no job and no other financial support to lean back on.”
New comments from Janel Grant's attorney Ann Callis to Wrestlenomics and other outlets, responding to Vince McMahon's court filing today.
Callis: "Vince McMahon has never known a storyline that he doesn’t twist to fit his own shameful narrative. Her father was in in-home hospice…
— Brandon Thurston (@BrandonThurston) April 23, 2024
