WWE founder Vince McMahon resigns from TKO Group after being accused of sexual assault and trafficking in new lawsuit

Vince
McMahon,
executive
chairman
of
the
board
of TKO
Group
Holdings
and
founder
of
wrestling
giant
WWE,
has
resigned
his
positions
at
both
companies,
according
to
a
WWE
memo
obtained
by
CNBC
and
confirmed
by
the
company.

“Vince
McMahon
has
tendered
his
resignation
from
his
positions
as
TKO
Executive
Chairman
and
on
the
TKO
Board
of
Directors.
He
will
no
longer
have
a
role
with
TKO
Group
Holdings
or
WWE,”
said
Nick
Khan,
president
of
the
WWE.

The
announcement
came
in
the
wake
of

allegations
made
public
Thursday,
of
sexual
assault
and
sex
trafficking,
against
McMahon.

McMahon
has
denied
the
allegations.
But
he
said
in
a
statement
late
Friday
that,
“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,
effective
immediately.”

The
latest
allegations
against
McMahon

were
in
a
lawsuit
filed
by
Janel
Grant
—
who
alleges
McMahon
directed
her
to
have
sex
with
a
WWE
“superstar”
and
other
men.
Grant’s
suit
seeks
to
void
a
nondisclosure
agreement
Grant
said
she
reached
with
McMahon
in
early
2022.

Grant’s
suit
in
U.S.
District
Court
in
Connecticut
says
the
billionaire
McMahon
agreed
to
pay
her
$3
million
as
part
of
that
deal,
but
ended
up
only
paying
her
$1
million
in
exchange
for
her
silence
about
his
conduct.

In
addition
to
McMahon,
78,
the
complaint
names
as
defendants
WWE
and
John
Laurinaitis,
the
company’s
former
head
of
talent
relations
and
general
manager.

The
complaint
comes
six
months
after
federal
law
enforcement
agents
executed
a
search
warrant
on
McMahon
and
served
him
with
a
grand
jury
subpoena
as
part
of
an
investigation
into
McMahon’s
payment
of
millions
of
dollars
to
multiple
women,
among
them
Grant,
after
allegations
of
sexual
misconduct.

McMahon,
who
resigned
from
WWE
leadership
posts
in
mid-2022
amid
an
internal
company
investigation,
only
to
return
as
its
leader
in
early
2023,
last
March
paid
WWE
$17.4
million
to
cover
costs
of
a
probe
of
those
payouts
by
a
law
firm
retained
by
the
company.