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Vince McMahon to Blame for WWE’s ‘Culture of Corruption,’ Says Former Employee’s Attorney
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Vince McMahon to Blame for WWE’s ‘Culture of Corruption,’ Says Former Employee’s Attorney

A new documentary about the rise and fall of World Wrestling Entertainment’s Vince McMahon premiered on Netflix Wednesday morning, and it’s stirring up all sorts of emotions for one of his accusers.

The six-part “Mr. McMahon” features interviews with McMahon and touches on controversies that have plagued his decades-long career. They include allegations of sex trafficking by Janel Grant, a former WWE employee who accused McMahon in a January civil lawsuit of coercing her into a sexual relationship in exchange for a job.

“I think she’s scared, but that’s her general state of mind,” said Ann Callis, Grant’s attorney. “She’s been scared ever since she was sex trafficked.”

Vince McMahon TKO Announcement
Vince McMahon announces that Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson will join the board of directors of TKO on January 23 at the New York Stock Exchange in New York City.Michelle Farsi / Zuffa LLC file

Callis said Grant, who did not appear in the documentary but whose story is highlighted, has not yet seen the series.

“The fact that she has no control over what is said about her does create some fear… but you know, she survives,” she said.

As for why she’s not on the show, “Janel feels like she needs to tell her story in her own way and at the right time for her. She’s not a WWE storyline. She wants to take ownership of her own story, and I think she deserves the dignity of that,” Callis said.

Grant agreed to pause her civil case in May, pending a federal investigation by the Southern District of New York. NBC News reported that WWE announced last year that investigators had served McMahon with a federal grand jury subpoena and executed a search warrant.

McMahon did not respond to a request for comment. In a statement prior to the documentary’s release, he said producers used “typical editing tricks” to “support a misleading narrative.” He said he hoped viewers would “remember that there are two sides to every story.”

Grant’s lawsuit also alleged that she was assaulted by WWE executive John Laurinaitis, who denied the accusation. His attorneys have said they will “vigorously defend these allegations in court, not in the media.”

Callis said her company is investigating other potential claims against McMahon and WWE.

“If I could summarize it in general, it’s a culture of corruption,” Callis said. “There’s a culture of victimization of women. We’ve heard from women and men that there really wasn’t a safety net. It was Vince’s show.”

McMahon became a household name after co-founding the $8 billion business empire that paved the way for Hulk Hogan, John Cena, Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson and other superstars.

They are also included in the docuseries.

The series also addresses other allegations, including the allegation that former WWE referee Rita Chatterton was sexually assaulted in 1986.

“Once you’re accused of rape, you’re a rapist,” McMahon says in the docuseries. “But it was consensual. And if it had been rape, the statute of limitations would have already passed. So it’s all this bullshit that people are digging up and trying to find on you.”