Ex-WWE executive agrees to help accuser in sex abuse lawsuit against
Vince McMahon and WWE
[May 29, 2025]
By DAVE COLLINS
A former WWE executive who had been fighting sexual abuse allegations in
a lawsuit by an ex-employee has agreed to a confidential settlement and
will now help the accuser as she continues suing the company and former
leader Vince McMahon, representatives and lawyers said Wednesday.
John Laurinaitis, WWE's former head of talent relations — who once
wrestled under the name Johnny Ace — will aid Janel Grant in her lawsuit
against McMahon and the worldwide wrestling entertainment conglomerate.
Representatives for Grant and Laurinaitis lawyer Edward Brennan
confirmed the settlement-cooperation deal and said Laurinaitis has
“evidence” against McMahon and the company, but wouldn't say what it
was.
“His agreement to a confidential settlement is a pivotal next step
toward holding McMahon and WWE accountable and bringing justice to Ms.
Grant after years of sexual abuse and trafficking,” representatives for
Grant and Laurinaitis said in a joint statement. "Mr. Laurinaitis looks
forward to moving on with his life. We cannot provide any additional
details at this time.”
A court document filed Wednesday says Grant and Laurinaitis agreed to a
dismissal of the lawsuit's claims against Laurinaitis, but allegations
against the WWE and McMahon remain.
McMahon's lawyer, Jessica Rosenberg, issued a statement in response.
“Today’s dismissal of John Laurinaitis as a defendant doesn’t alter the
facts of this case in any way. Vince McMahon never mistreated Janel
Grant," Rosenberg said. “No matter how many press releases her team
issues, the truth remains unchanged.”
Rosenberg added that a lawyer for Laurinaitis previously said the
lawsuit's allegations were unfounded.
Representatives for the WWE did not immediately return emails seeking
comment Wednesday.
Grant sued the WWE, McMahon and Laurinaitis last year in federal court
in Connecticut, where the WWE is based in Stamford. In graphic detail,
she alleges McMahon coerced her into sex acts with him, Laurinaitis and
others, and she claims both men sexually assaulted her. She says she was
made to do humiliating acts during the encounters. The lawsuit also
includes photos of sexual texts it says McMahon sent Grant.
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Vince McMahon stands at Republican state convention in Hartford,
Conn., May 18, 2012. (AP Photo/Jessica Hill, File)
 McMahon, former CEO and chairman of
WWE, has denied Grant’s allegations. He has previously said the
lawsuit is “replete with lies, obscene made-up instances that never
occurred, and is a vindictive distortion of the truth. I intend to
vigorously defend myself against these baseless accusations, and
look forward to clearing my name.” His lawyers said in court
documents that he had a consensual relationship with Grant and never
mistreated her.
Grant first started working for the WWE in 2019 as an entry-level
employee in its legal department, a job arranged by McMahon, and
later transferred to the talent relations department, where
Laurinaitis was her boss.
Grant has said she was eventually pressured into leaving her job
with the WWE and signing a $3 million nondisclosure agreement. The
lawsuit also seeks to have the agreement declared invalid, saying
McMahon breached the deal by giving her $1 million and failing to
pay the rest.
Currently pending in the lawsuit are motions by McMahon, the WWE and
Laurinaitis to move all the claims to arbitration. They said the
lawsuit should not be allowed because Grant agreed to settle any
disputes in arbitration as part of her nondisclosure agreement.
McMahon resigned from WWE’s parent company in January 2024 after
Grant filed her lawsuit. At the time, McMahon stepped down from his
position as executive chair of the board of directors at WWE’s
parent company, TKO Group Holdings.
McMahon also resigned as WWE’s CEO in 2022 amid a company
investigation into allegations that match those in Grant's lawsuit.
McMahon bought what was then the World Wrestling Federation in 1982
and transformed it from a regional wrestling company into a
worldwide phenomenon. Besides running the company with his wife,
Linda, who is now the U.S. education secretary, he also performed at
WWE events as himself.
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