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Less than a day after a lawsuit accused him of sexually abusing and defecating on a WWE employee, Vince McMahon tagged himself out of his role atop the world of professional wrestling and mixed martial arts.
McMahon, 78, resigned Friday from all roles at TKO, the parent company of UFC, which promotes mixed martial arts fights, and WWE, a pro wrestling company.
McMahon was a board member and executive chairman of TKO despite stepping down as WWE’s CEO in 2022 amidst an investigation into similar allegations, reports ESPN.
“Out of respect for the WWE Universe, the extraordinary TKO business and its board members and shareholders, partners and constituents, and all of the employees and Superstars who helped make WWE into the global leader it is today, I have decided to resign from my executive chairmanship and the TKO board of directors, effective immediately,” McMahon said in a statement Friday night.
The statement came less than 24 hours after news broke of the lawsuit, which McMahon maintains is “baseless.”
The lawsuit “is replete with lies, obscene made-up instances that never occurred, and is a vindictive distortion of the truth,” McMahon said. “I intend to vigorously defend myself against these baseless accusations, and look forward to clearing my name.”
Janel Grant, who served in WWE’s legal and talent departments, said in the lawsuit filed Thursday that McMahon forced her into sexual relationships with himself and other employees, and distributed pornographic pictures and videos of her to other men.
In one incident, Grant accuses McMahon and WWE’s former head of talent relations John Laurinaitis of forcing her behind a locked door and sexually assaulting her.
The lawsuit also alleges that in May 2020, McMahon “defecated on Ms. Grant during a threesome, and then commanded her to continue pleasuring his ‘friend’ — with feces in her hair and running down her back — while McMahon went to the bathroom to shower off.”
Grant went public with the allegations in part to “prevent other women from being victimized,” her attorney, Ann Callis, said in a statement.
She’s seeking unspecified monetary damages and to have the court void a $3 million nondisclosure agreement, of which she alleges she received only $1 million.
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Evan Rosen, Jessica Schaldebeck
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