Did WWE boss Vince McMahon have an affair with a female employee and then silenced her with multimillions? The company’s board of directors has been investigating these allegations for weeks. Now the “Wall Street Journal” has reported on the new wrestling scandal.
WWE CEO Vince McMahon has reportedly paid a departing employee $3 million to wrestle the wrestling world.
McMahon had a consensual affair with the woman, who joined WWE in 2019 as a paralegal. The financial settlement, made in January 2022, was designed to ensure the woman remains silent about the incidents during her time in WWE. That reports that „Wall Street Journal“ on Wednesday.
As a result of the WWE Board of Directors’ investigation, which began in April, older confidentiality agreements regarding other misconduct by McMahon towards former female employees were unearthed. And John Laurinatis, who as Head of Talent Relations takes care of all matters with the WWE Superstars, also plays a role here.
The “Wall Street Journal” could not name the exact number of silence agreements made in the past – but it seems certain that several million US dollars have been paid over the years to cover up affairs with former employees. It is said that McMahon made the payments from his private fortune.
An independent law firm has been consulted and is now investigating what happened at public company WWE.
EX-EMPLOYEE WAS ‘PASSED LIKE A TOY’
The WWE Board of Directors is said to have first received an email on March 30 from a friend of the 41-year-old paralegal. It says she was originally guaranteed an annual salary of $100,000. After the woman had a sexual relationship with Mr. McMahon (76), he increased the money to $ 200,000.
The email alleges McMahon “handed her over like a toy” to John Laurinatis. He continued: “My girlfriend was so scared that Vince McMahon and his attorney Jerry (editor’s note) gave her millions of dollars to keep her mouth shut.”
IS McMAHON’S ROLE AS CHIEF NOW WOGGING?
Can these revelations jeopardize Vince McMahon’s position at his own company?
One thing is certain: McMahon controls the majority of voting shares and cannot be voted out of office by the WWE Board of Directors. If this story develops into a broader media issue, and possibly makes even bigger waves, McMahon may still be forced to respond. Especially if pressure from business partners NBCUniversal and FOX, who are responsible for more than half of WWE’s annual sales, should increase.
A crucial point remains whether the special payment that the paralegal receives comes directly from WWE. This is denied by Jerry McDevitt in the WSJ article. However, the 41-year-old appears to have already received a raise after she began dating McMahon. The US Securities and Exchange Commission will have to take a close look here.
The WWE Board of Directors is made up of twelve people. These include McMahon’s son-in-law Triple H (Paul Levesque) and his daughter Stephanie McMahon, who surprisingly gave up her role in day-to-day business in May. By this time she will have known about the investigation launched against her father. Recently, a media report appeared, that should show Stephanie in his bad light. Accordingly, one can now speculate as to how the scandal surrounding CEO Vince McMahon was placed in the media.
One thing is certain: the position of WWE President Nick Khan, the former sports rights executive who joined the company in August 2020, is stronger than ever.