VINCE QUITS WWE

Flees ring amid sex suit

Vince McMahon is stepping down from his position as executive chairman of WWE parent TKO Group Holdings amid the sexual abuse scandal that has rocked the wrestling world.

According to Deadline, McMahon denied the allegations in the lawsuit filed against him Thursday that accused him of sexual assault and trafficking, but he is nonetheless resigning.

“I stand by my prior statement that Ms. [Janel] Grant’s lawsuit is replete with lies, obscene made-up instances that never occurred, and is a vindictive distortion of the truth,” McMahon said Friday, per Deadline. “I intend to vigorously defend myself against these baseless accusations.

‘Out of respect . . .’

“However, 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, effectively immediately.”

McMahon, the co-founder of the modern WWE, was hit with the bombshell lawsuit this week by Grant, an exstaffer — which included allegations that he defecated on her during a threesome, trafficked her to other WWE execs and sexually abused her with toys he named after wrestling stars.

Employees were told of McMahon’s decision in an email Friday, per Variety.

“I wanted to inform you that Vince McMahon has tendered his resignation from his positions as TKO Executive Chairman and on the TKO Board of Directors,” WWE president and TKO board member Nick Khan wrote, according to Variety.

Grant’s lawsuit comes after The Wall Street Journal reported in 2023 that the WWE was investigating an alleged $3 million payment from McMahon to a departing female employee following a consensual affair.

Grant, who was not previously named before this week’s allegations came to light, claims in her new lawsuit that after she signed a non-disclosure agreement to keep things under wraps, she received $1 million but no further payments.

Grant, 43, who previously worked in WWE’s legal and talent departments, named WWE as well as McMahon, 78, and John Laurinaitis, the company’s former head of talent relations and general manager, in the lawsuit.