Posted in: AEW, Sports, TV | Tagged: wrestling

Janel Grant Speaks Out As WWE Lawsuit Arbitration Hearing Set

Janel Grant made her first public appearance this week, alleging WWE employees live in fear, as her lawsuit against Vince McMahon heads toward a June hearing.

The protracted legal battle between former World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) employee Janel Grant and former WWE Chairman Vince McMahon has entered a new phase, with both sides agreeing to a June hearing on the question of arbitration. Meanwhile, Grant made her first public appearance this week, delivering an emotional address in which she alleged that WWE employees remain "living and working in fear" at the company's Connecticut headquarters.

According to a court filing first reported by Fightful, the parties have jointly submitted a proposed schedule to the court that would culminate in oral arguments sometime in June 2026 on the defendants' motions to compel arbitration. To be clear, the parties have not agreed to arbitrate the dispute itself — rather, they have agreed upon a timeline to argue whether the case should be forced into private arbitration at all.

The filing states that the parties "have conferred regarding the directives outlined in the Court's Order dated February 6, 2026" and have proposed a briefing schedule that includes an April 1 deadline for Grant's opposition to the motions to compel arbitration, followed by a May 13 deadline for optional replies from the defense. The joint notice proposes "a date in June 2026 for oral argument on Defendants' Motions to Compel Arbitration," with several dates excluded due to scheduling conflicts.

The arbitration question is central to McMahon's defense strategy. McMahon has maintained that Grant is bound by a non-disclosure agreement (NDA) that includes an arbitration clause, which would move the proceedings out of the public eye and into a private forum. Grant and her legal team have resisted this effort, seeking to keep the case in federal court.

Just days after the arbitration filing became public, Grant made her first public appearance at a briefing for the Connecticut Alliance to End Sexual Violence on Thursday, delivering remarks to an audience of survivors, legislators, and advocates. Her comments, transcribed by Wrestling Inc., painted a harrowing picture of the alleged aftermath of her NDA with McMahon and the toll the legal proceedings have taken on her life.

"I really shouldn't be here," Grant began. "By a series of miracles that I can't account for, I'm alive today."

Grant recounted the day in June 2022 when the Wall Street Journal first reported on her NDA with McMahon, describing it as a moment when her "life was rewritten into someone else's storyline." She alleged that she was told she could not comment on the story, could not acknowledge it, and could not even tell people she was not okay. She described the mental health impact of that moment in devastating terms, revealing that she attempted to take her own life in the immediate aftermath.

"I ended up in a closet with a belt and a stool placed under a metal rod, and thank God somebody saw me and stopped it," Grant said. "But that is the life wreck and mental health impact of this particular NDA."

Grant also spoke at length about the broader implications of NDAs used to conceal alleged misconduct in the workplace, arguing that they serve to perpetuate harm rather than resolve it. "When patterns can't be seen, they can't be stopped. When they can't be stopped, harm spreads," she said. "When an NDA is used to conceal behavior it simply relocates the harm to next employee, the next office, the next victim. No one should be required to trade silence for accountability."

In some of her most pointed remarks, Grant alleged that WWE had attempted to shape the public narrative surrounding her relationship with McMahon without her consent. She claimed that in June 2022, the company requested she participate in a joint statement characterizing her alleged relationship with McMahon as consensual, with additional financial compensation reportedly offered for her agreement. When she refused, Grant alleged that a company spokesperson made the statement on her behalf regardless.

"Leaving out one half of an experiencing party in a decision like that is not consent," she stated.

Grant further alleged that she spent six figures participating in a company investigation, only to later discover it had been closed without ever speaking to her. She also claimed that she had been contacted regarding a federal investigation and, upon submitting evidence for review, was informed of a "covert investigation into human trafficking and criminal conduct" allegedly involving McMahon and WWE. Grant noted that the FBI subsequently began sending her communications identifying her as a potential victim — letters she said she continued to receive "for two and a half years."

"If you want to know why my case, my federal civil lawsuit, is not an employment law case, that is because the feds requested I say nothing, that this be covert, that they could do the work that they needed to do to investigate human trafficking and criminal misconduct," Grant stated.

Grant also alleged that two specific acts since the filing of her lawsuit appeared designed to humiliate her, including the publication of a purported "love letter" allegedly found on a corporate laptop during the federal investigation. She characterized this as "public humiliation and intimidation of a person who gets letters from the FBI that say victim, and it's also witness intimidation discouraging others from speaking out."

She additionally referenced a WWE television storyline that observers had noted bore striking parallels to her allegations, with Dominik Mysterio receiving a text from Liv Morgan, implied to be revealing photos, and shows it to his Judgment Day faction mates, prompting Grant to ask pointedly, "Does it look like we work in a safe environment? When the destination point if you're hurt is weaponized use of your experience on live TV, every Monday night for months."

Grant concluded with a direct appeal to the board of TKO Group Holdings, WWE's parent company: "If you didn't know this part of your origin story, now you know. I hope you will have conversations with us… Leadership means stepping into the unknown, listening, and discussing things even when they're hard. Be willing to take first steps."

Grant's civil lawsuit, originally filed in January 2024, alleges sexual trafficking and abuse by McMahon during her employment at WWE. The case was temporarily suspended to accommodate a federal investigation into McMahon's alleged conduct, which ultimately concluded without criminal charges being filed. McMahon resigned from all positions at WWE and TKO Group Holdings following the Wall Street Journal's report on Grant's lawsuit.

McMahon has denied all allegations of wrongdoing and has maintained that any sexual relationship was consensual. His legal representatives have previously stated their confidence that the claims will be found "untrue and unfounded." McMahon has, however, paid millions of dollars in settlements to multiple other women who have accused him of sexual misconduct.

Former WWE head of talent relations John Laurinaitis, who was originally named as a co-defendant in the suit, reached a confidential settlement agreement last year and agreed to cooperate and provide evidence against McMahon in the continuing proceedings.

The case now moves toward the pivotal question of whether the dispute will be adjudicated in open court or behind the closed doors of private arbitration — a determination that could fundamentally shape the trajectory of one of the most consequential legal battles in the history of professional wrestling.

Enjoyed this? Please share on social media!

Stay up-to-date and support the site by following Bleeding Cool on Google News today!