Posted in: Sports, TV, WWE | Tagged: Vince McMahon, wrestling

Vince McMahon Civil Suit Paused as Federal Probe Into WWE Advances

Former WWE employee Janel Grant has paused her sexual misconduct lawsuit against Vince McMahon in deference to a federal criminal investigation.

A federal investigation into disgraced wrestling mogul Vince McMahon has zeroed in on charges of sexual assault and sex trafficking as revealed earlier this year in a bombshell lawsuit filed by former WWE employee Janel Grant. Bloomberg first reported that Grant had agreed to pause that lawsuit in deference to a federal probe into McMahon, former WWE head of talent relations John Laurenitis, and WWE itself, the same parties named in Grant's lawsuit. Grant's lawyer, Ann Callis, told the outlet:

Ms. Grant has consented to a request by the US Attorney for the Southern District of New York to stay her case against Mr. McMahon, WWE and Mr. Laurinaitis, pursuant to a pending non-public investigation. We will cooperate with all appropriate next steps.

Deadline later reported that prosecutors submitted a sealed filing was submitted to the court containing materials from the probe, and an additional filing adding a second prosecutor to the case.

Filed earlier this year, the lawsuit filed by Grant accused McMahon of sexually trafficking, abusing, and assaulting Grant during a time she was both an employee of WWE and engaged in a relationship with McMahon. In the wake of the lawsuit, McMahon resigned from all roles at WWE and parent TKO, where he served as Executive Chairman after selling WWE to Endeavor and merging it with UFC under the TKO name. McMahon executed the sale in 2023 after forcing his way back into power after being compelled to retire in 2022 due to an internal investigation into hush money payments made to multiple women. While McMahon remains the subject of an investigation by the federal government for those payments made to Grant and others totaling millions of dollars, he has denied all allegations against him.

McMahon also attempted in April to force the lawsuit into arbitration, arguing that the terms of the original non-disclosure agreement specified that's how disputes would be settled. McMahon paid $1 million of the $3 million agreement before cutting off payment. In response to the latest news, McMahon's attorney issued the following statement:

We remain confident the evidence will prove Ms. Grant's allegations are false and her complaint is nothing more than a fabricated, vindictive narrative from a disgruntled former girlfriend.

Following McMahon's ouster under the latest scandal, the longtime WWE head has been scrubbed from WWE programming. Nick Khan currently serves as CEO of the company, while McMahon's son-in-law, Triple H, heads up creative. Since McMahon's departure, the company has enjoyed a critically acclaimed creative renaissance while simultaneously avoiding blame from most fans for McMahon's alleged misdeeds. The potential for that situation to change as more information is revealed in a criminal or civil trial remains to be seen.

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