More on Sex Trafficking Lawsuit Against Vince McMahon – NDA, TKO Might Lack Power to Remove McMahon, Janel Grant, TKO, & McMahon Responds

As noted before, a lawsuit was filed on Thursday by former WWE employee Janel Grant against TKO Group Executive Chairman Vince McMahon accusing McMahon of committing sex trafficking and sexual abuse towards Grant during her time in the company.

PWInsider’s Mike Johnson reported that the NDA deal between McMahon and Grant contained a clause stating that McMahon would not be required to continue to make payments beyond the initial $1 million “in the event of any disclosures by Grant of the matter required to be kept confidential.” Johnson reported that the initial Wall Street Journal’s report about McMahon’s sexual misconduct in June of 2022 was considered by McMahon to be a breach of the terms of their NDA deal and the reason why he stopped the additional payments. Those spoken to familiar with the matter reportedly stated that McMahon blamed Grant for the media leaks while Grant denied being involved with it.

In regards to if TKO holds legal power to unilaterally force McMahon out from their Board of Directors and company, Wrestlenomics’ Brandon Thurston reported that TKO’s Board of Directors might lack this power based on the wording of a section in TKO’s Certificate of Incorporation. Thurston reported that TKO might need McMahon’s approval in order to make him resign from the company if they wanted to do so.

Unclear TKO can unilaterally force Vince McMahon out as Executive Chairman and may instead need to somehow convince him to resign if they want him gone.

From TKO's Certificate of Incorporation:

"7.2 Executive Chair. Notwithstanding Section 7.1(b), Vincent K. McMahon shall serve…

— Brandon Thurston (@BrandonThurston) January 26, 2024

Grant’s attorney Ann Callis of Holland Law Firm released an official statement regarding Grant’s current lawsuit against McMahon.

“Today’s complaint seeks to hold accountable two WWE executives who sexually assaulted and trafficked Plaintiff Janel Grant, as well as the organization that facilitated or turned a blind eye to the abuse and then swept it under the rug.

She is an incredibly private and courageous person who has suffered deeply at the hands of Mr. McMahon and Mr. Laurinaitis.  Ms. Grant hopes that her lawsuit will prevent other women from being victimized. The organization is well aware of Mr. McMahon’s history of depraved behavior, and it’s time that they take responsibility for the misconduct of its leadership.”

TKO also released an official statement to Variety in response to the latest allegations against McMahon.

“Mr. McMahon does not control TKO nor does he oversee the day-to-day operations of WWE. While this matter predates our TKO executive team’s tenure at the company, we take Ms. Grant’s horrific allegations very seriously and are addressing this matter internally.”

A spokesman for McMahon also released an official statement to Deadline denying the accusations and stating that McMahon will vigorously defend himself over it.

“This lawsuit is replete with lies, obscene made-up instances that never occurred, and a vindictive distortion of the truth. He will vigorously defend himself.”