The former WWE employee who allegedly was sexually abused by Vince McMahon broke her silence Friday, saying she “hopes any doors of secrecy have been blown off their hinges.”
Janel Grant claimed the wrestling mogul coerced her into having sex with wrestling stars and other WWE executives, along with more lurid allegations that including McMahon defecating on her head during a threesome and using sex toys on her that he named after wrestlers, according to the lawsuit filed Thursday.
“She hopes those at the company past and present who fear speaking out about harm is a thing of the past,” Grant said in a statement read by her St. Louis-based attorney, Ann Callis.
“She wishes them all peace.”
Callis relayed the statement during an interview she gave to the Law&Crime podcast, “Crime Fix with Angenette Levy.”
The interview is set to be available for streaming on Friday evening.
The 43-year-old Grant, who lives in Stamford, Conn., filed a lawsuit Thursday.
A spokesperson for McMahon said the lawsuit was “riddled with falsehoods, baseless fabrications of events that never transpired, and a malicious distortion of the truth.”
“Mr. McMahon intends to vigorously defend himself against these allegations,” the spokesperson said.
Her lawsuit comes after the Wall Street Journal reported last year that the WWE was investigating an alleged $3 million payment from McMahon to a departing female employee following a consensual affair.
Grant, who was unnamed at the time, claims she received an initial installment of $1 million but no further payments afterward, in the new lawsuit.
A subsequent investigation found that McMahon paid $14.6 million to several women who accused him of sexual misconduct.
McMahon is also alleged to have shared nude photos and explicit videos of Grant without her consent with other WWE employees, according to the lawsuit.
He once locked her inside his private locker room at WWE headquarters in Stamford and forced himself on her over a massage table, the complaint said.
The WWE boss is also alleged to have directed Grant to have sex with other executives and a wrestling star, the lawsuit claims.
John Laurinaitis, WWE’s former head of talent relations who is named as a defendant in the lawsuit, was allegedly recruited by McMahon to have sex with Grant.
Grant was told by McMahon to visit Laurinaitis in his hotel rooms where she had sex with him before workdays, it was alleged in the lawsuit.
In one encounter at WWE offices in June 2021, McMahon and Laurinaitis forced themselves on her and took turns restraining her for the other, it was alleged in the lawsuit.
“No means yes” and “Take it, b—h” were among the things McMahon and Laurinaitis said to Grant during the alleged assault, according to the lawsuit.
In July 2021, McMahon told Grant to create sexualized content on her phone and send it to Brock Lesnar, a former UFC star whom the WWE was trying to sign at the time.
Last July, federal law enforcement agents executed a search warrant and served a federal grand jury subpoena to McMahon, according to a regulatory filing.
WWE said in the filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission that while government investigations into McMahon remain ongoing, no charges have been brought against them.
The company said it has received voluntary and compulsory legal demands for documents, including from federal law enforcement and regulatory agencies, concerning the investigation and related subject matters.
The lawsuit by Grant comes just months after WWE was acquired by Endeavor, the sports and entertainment company owned by super agent Ari Emanuel.
Endeavor and WWE together formed TKO Group, which brings the wrestling brand under the same corporate umbrella as UFC.
“Mr. McMahon does not control TKO nor does he oversee the day-to-day operations of WWE,” a TKO spokesperson told The Post on Thursday.
“While this matter pre-dates our TKO executive team’s tenure at the company, we take Ms. Grant’s horrific allegations very seriously and are addressing this matter internally.”
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