Published: 6 hours ago by Liam | Last Updated: 4 hours ago by Liam
Liam has been reporting & analyzing wrestling news for over eight years, and is currently the Managing Editor at WrestleTalk.com. Immersed in wrestling for 18 years, he has over 11,000 published articles in addition to leading and overseeing WrestleTalk.com’s coverage.
WWE
New and more detailed sexual abuse allegations have emerged against Vince McMahon and WWE involving Brock Lesnar and more.
Former WWE employee Janel Grant, who filed the major allegations in the lawsuit against Vince McMahon, WWE and John Laurinaitis (who has since been removed as a defendant) in January 2024, has now filed a new declaration with more allegations as well as new details of prior allegations.
The filing reads as follows:
I, Janel Grant, hereby declare as follows:
1. I am the plaintiff in this action and make this declaration in support of Plaintiff’s Brief in Opposition to Defendants’Motions to Compel Arbitration. Unless otherwise stated, I have personal knowledge of the matters set forth herein and can and will testify thereto if I am called upon to do so.
My Introduction to Vince McMahon
2. In March 2019, after I had been turned down for two jobs days apart, including an administrative role in the hospital where I actively volunteered, I broke down and told my best friend that I needed help with finding a job and starting over in life. For years, I had been a fulltime caregiver for my terminally ill parents and I felt I had lost my purpose when they died. I found myself without any family, income, savings or independence. My friend, who lived in the same apartment building as me and worked as the on-site resident manager, said that she was close with Vince McMahon, who owned a penthouse in the building, and that he could help me. She asked for my resume and coordinated a meeting with Vince. I viewed the opportunity to receive advice from someone who had achieved extraordinary success as priceless and potentially life-changing.
3. I first met Vince on March 23, 2019. During that first meeting, he asked me deeply personal and painful things about my situation. I told Vince that after I graduated from law school, life events happened that humbled my family, including illness and bankruptcy, and left me in a state of survival mode ever since. I told him I was actively looking for employment and unprepared for how hard it would be to even get interviews for a job. I asked him for advice to correct whatever it was that I was doing wrong. I told him that I preferred to live like a ghost than admit that I had no family and struggled with grief, debt, a loss of all confidence in myself, and a bare bones support system. Vince pointed out that my ability to be vulnerable was a rare quality and he emphasized how important it was to continue being vulnerable. He said he not only wanted to give me a job but also a life, and that his office would be in touch. Vince later told me that after I left from that first meeting, he walked back to the spot where we spoke, pulled down his pants, and “jacked off” on the floor.
4. On March 26, 2019, I texted Vince to thank him for meeting with me. He replied, “I’ll B back tomorrow. I’ll get things moving then :)” and followed through with facilitating an introduction to his office. The WWE Chairman’s Office / Executive Office (“Executive Office”) then contacted me to schedule an exploratory “interview” at WWE’s corporate headquarters (“HQ”).
5. On March 31, 2019, Vince invited me to his apartment to meet and prepare for my interview with the then-SVP Chief of Staff Brad Blum the following day. During this meeting, Vince described a knee surgery he had and, with his finger, drew the line of incision on my own leg. He then led me on a tour of his condo before hugging me goodbye, while whispering, “Feels so good.”
6. I met with Brad at WWE HQ on April 1, 2019. Brad said I was correct to assume that Vince does not create jobs for people he has just met. Brad made a remark about not knowing what my role “will” be and I interpreted that to mean that there was no official open position and that one would be created for me. I felt a surge of hope that I would finally have a purpose.
7. In the weeks that followed, I had regular contact with Vince, both in person and by text message. He also invited me and the friend who introduced us to Wrestlemania on April 7, 2019, providing us with tickets for seats in a location he personally selected and hiring us a private car service.
8. On April 21, 2019, Vince invited me to visit him at his apartment for an update. Among other things, he said: i) he’s a man of his word and his word is good; ii) he did not forget his promise to me; iii) he was revving the engine again on the job; and iv) I would hear from Brad and HR that week. Later, as I turned to leave, he briefly massaged my upper back with his hands and promised I’d hear from his office in the next day or two.
9. Around this time, Vince mentioned that he had an attorney, Jerry McDevitt, on speed dial who was the best at making problems, including people who become problems, go away.
10. On April 23, 2019, both the Executive Office and the Human Resources department (“HR”) contacted me and arranged for me to meet with two Vice Presidents the following week on April 30. I reported all of this to Vince, expressing how excited and grateful I was for the opportunity.
11. As set forth more fully in my Amended Complaint, I continued to be in regular contact with Vince throughout the interview process, and the meetings alternated between discussing job-related issues, such as reviewing my resume or sample job descriptions, and growing increasingly sexual.
12. On May 10, 2019, I was contacted about an opportunity that was “quickly coming together” in the legal department and was scheduled for a phone meeting with WWE’s General Counsel Brian Nurse that same afternoon. I texted Vince, “IS THIS IT??? Steve & I spoke and now I have a call at 4pm TODAY with Brian Nurse.” He replied, “Keep me posted :)”.
13. After the phone meeting, I texted Vince a thumbs-up emoji. Around 7:00 p.m., the General Counsel called me again to extend a verbal job offer. The next day, on May 11, 2019, Vince told me that he had directed the General Counsel to offer me a job, and recounted expressions like “give her the good news” and “don’t leave her hanging over the weekend.” When I expressed confusion about the conflict between his warning to me that no one can know about our closeness while his actions with the General Counsel indicated otherwise, he replied that it’s his company and he can do what he wants, including hiring who he wants and how he wants. Then, Vince made his next overtly sexual move and, despite my saying no and to stop, put his hand in my pants. I do not remember what happened next because I blacked out.
14. Shortly thereafter, I received the written offer letter, which Vince reviewed with me on May 18, 2019. He provided me with background information about Rich Hering, who would be my new boss, and why he paired me with him. Vince summarized that a job was made from scratch in the legal department to specifically pair me with a decades-long ally and grieving widower in his 70s, who could both protect me and with whom I could bond over the loss of family. My prior legal education made placement in the department easy to justify but pairing me with Rich was central to creating a new role in it.
15. Vince then handed me an envelope containing tickets to the Belmont Stakes. Vince proceeded to have a full sexual encounter with me that began with “please don’t stop this.” I went numb and was unable to make eye contact.
16. Things were quickly getting out of hand with Vince. He immediately inserted himself into and consumed all aspects of my life, including my work, personal, and medical life. Although I did not recognize the pattern at the time, in retrospect I see that Vince created my job so he could monitor me and engage in predatory behaviors more easily. He made himself central to my work and personal life, which I wanted to keep separate.
17. On June 16, 2019, in anticipation of starting the new job in the WWE legal department, I tried to end any further physical contact or sexual encounters with Vince. He refused to accept my feelings and logic. Vince told me that all I needed to do was not tell anyone and asked whether that would be a problem for me. He warned me not to mention our closeness to anyone, nor his personal involvement in the creation of my role, although I could acknowledge that we met. If anyone ever asked how I came to work at WWE, Vince told me to emphasize that HR led the process and said, “it just has to look legit.”
Other WWE Leaders Participated in Vince’s Exploitation Then Helped Him Cover it Up
18. My first day working in the legal department at WWE was June 17, 2019.
19. On my second day at WWE, while sitting at my cubicle, Vince texted me a selfie at 2:51 p.m. and asked, “Like my tie? It would look better if I used it to tie U up!!”
20. Beginning in 2019 and continuing into 2022, it was my understanding that Vince regularly disrupted his work schedule for his impulsive sexual gratification. Vince told me, and I believed, that he delayed or left meetings in progress, usually in the evening, for up to hours at a time to act on his sexual impulses with me before returning to those meetings, which could easily go into the early morning hours. I felt that it was dangerous, if not impossible, to seek help regarding the abuse I was experiencing when even the company’s top executives were forced to stop and wait for Vince to finish with me. It also reinforced my dependence on Vince, believing only he could save me from himself because no one else would.
21. The first executive Vince identified as having knowledge of his sexual encounters with me, partly because he “figured it out,” was Brad. In November 2019, Brad was promoted to Executive Vice President (EVP), Operations and Chief of Staff. This meant that Brad provided oversight to core departments including the legal department, talent relations, and HR.
22. At the end of January 2020, news suddenly broke about WWE’s co-presidents, George Wilson and Michelle Barrios, parting ways with the company. Days later, on February 3, Vince warned me that Brad had informed him that there were a lot of rumors going around the company about Vince and me.
23. On February 10, 2020, seemingly in response to the rumors, I was temporarily relocated to XFL to fill an open paralegal role while XFL looked for a new permanent hire.
24. I enjoyed working at XFL and asked for permission to stay, rather than returning to the legal department at WWE, where I felt I had no work. After Vince learned of my relocation efforts, I was turned down by XFL on March 10, 2020, and told that WWE needed me more. I went into the bathroom and cried.
Vince’s Control and Abuse Escalated During COVID Lockdown
25. On March 25, 2020, only days after the government shut down due to the COVID pandemic, and only weeks after Vince told me of the rumors at WWE about us that posed both personal and corporate liability, he began sharing and texting naked pictures of me to others without my consent, including explicit pictures of me with my face clearly visible. Learning that he was sending such pictures around to others distressed me greatly. He was the famous 74-year old billionaire, CEO, and Chairman of WWE, while I was merely a private person working in an entry-level role in his legal department.
26. In April of 2020, Vince told me that he had prevented my furlough from WWE, even though I was the last-hired employee of the legal department. The order to work from home gave Vince easy access to me, and he started taking real steps to turn his sexual fantasies into reality. With Vince and I working from home in the same building during the height of the COVID19 pandemic, Vince had unlimited access to me to act on his sexual impulses on any day, at any time. I could not escape from him at work or at home.
27. With TV tapings relocated to Florida because of the pandemic, Vince increasingly flew to Connecticut on the corporate jet for sexual gratification before turning around and heading back to Florida. He also began advertising sexual encounters with me to other men both inside and outside the company.
28. On May 9, 2020, I was forced to participate in a threesome with Vince and his “friend,” during which Vince lost control of his bowels on my head. He and his “friend” continued with the threesome while I remained covered in filth and after his “friend” left, I was instructed to stay and continue to sexually gratify Vince.
29. In August 2020, Nick Khan was announced as WWE’s new President and Chief Revenue Officer. In hindsight, I view Nick’s arrival as the moment that my life changed for the worse. My fears about reporting the abuse were realized when I learned from Vince that he put the company’s new President, essentially his second in command, on notice of his ongoing sexual conduct with me. Nick never asked me whether the relationship was consensual. Instead, Nick also waited for Vince to finish engaging with me sexually during meetings.
30. On or about November 18, 2020, the General Counsel was let go, and no formal replacement was announced. Approximately 72 hours after I learned that the General Counsel was terminated, Vince flew in from Florida and forced me to have sex with him in his office at HQ on a Saturday, which he described as a fantasy that finally became a reality.
Vince Installed John Laurinaitis in My Life, Inducing Paranoia and Inciting Fear
31. Around the same time as the termination of the General Counsel, in or about November 2020, Vince introduced me to John Laurinaitis, a WWE producer who lived with his family in Arizona and with whom I did not cross paths in my role as a legal coordinator-administrator. Vince described Johnny as a loyal long-time friend who would take a bullet for him.
32. On or about December 29, 2020, I was forced to participate in a threesome with Vince and Johnny after they flew into Connecticut following the taping of RAW. I thought that this encounter would bring a winding down of Johnny’s presence in my life, but instead it escalated.
33. In January 2021, I was reassigned to support a high-ranking new hire in the legal department. I provided run off support to a second new attorney who onboarded weeks earlier. and learned that I would be supporting two new attorneys onboarded that month. Meanwhile, months had passed and the General Counsel position remained vacant, without any update as to when a replacement would be hired.
34. Simultaneous to the start of this new chapter, Vince informed me that Johnny would be flying into Connecticut for meetings to discuss having “more of a presence” in HQ. I did not know who Johnny was meeting with or what Vince meant by “more of a presence.” I was immediately paranoid, as Vince had instructed me that I should not inform Johnny that I worked at WWE, so I was terrified of running into him at HQ. I supported a serious legal team, and I wanted to be taken seriously as a person in my professional life.
35. Following the in-person sexual encounter with Johnny, Vince aggressively monitored my communications with him, collecting proof of my compliance as I reported back sexual pictures and exchanges they both expected and/or requested of me. Vince provided directions such as “show him more,” and also filmed me naked while he was on FaceTime with Johnny and I was unaware that he was filming me. At the same time, Vince repeatedly told me that “no one can know” about his relationship with me.
36. I could not understand why Vince continued to push me so hard at Johnny; it felt like Vince was ominously installing me into pseudo-relationship with Johnny.
37. On February 17, 2021, a late-night text from Johnny sent me into a state of panic when he sent the following: “On a flight and your pic didn’t come through but I can’t get out of my mind. Surprises are fun aren’t they?” Vince then texted me at 1:14 a.m. the same night, saying, “Johnny just texted me and said he’s in town and is dying to C U. All I said was I’m sure Janel would like to C U too.” I froze in fear and did not respond. I was terrified that Vince and Laurinaitis were plotting to ambush me together at HQ.
38. The following day, I expressed to Vince that I was “VERY glad I’m not in the office today. I wouldn’t have been prepared to run into him if he’s got meetings there” and that I would have “flat lined in the hallway. He doesn’t know I work for WWE.”
39. In early March 2021, I was forced to participate in another threesome with Vince and Johnny at Vince’s condo, which was so extremely violent that it caused me to black out for the majority of the encounter.
Vince and WWE Enablers Made the Decision to Move Me Out of Visibility in the Legal Department and Into Talent Relations, Giving Vince Easier Access to Me
40. On March 9, 2021, during work hours, Vince messaged me to meet with him that evening. That night, upon my arrival to Vince’s condo for the meeting he requested, he didn’t greet me warmly but rather exhaled and said, “We need to talk. People know about us.” I immediately felt a full body panic set in and began sobbing, feeling as though this was a huge invasion of my privacy.
41. Vince then informed me that he had spoken privately with Nick Khan and Brad Blum during which he formally disclosed the sexual nature of his relationship with me. He said they expressed concern and one questioned whether I could be trusted. Vince told me he provided them with assurances about my loyalty, character, that I would never do something to hurt WWE, and that I “would sooner jump off the balcony than hurt anyone.” He told me that, with these assurances, Nick and Brad were ultimately supportive.
42. Before March 9, Vince warned me of the consequences of anyone knowing about our “closeness.” After March 9, Vince said that WWE leadership knew about Vince’s then, current, and ongoing sexual conduct with me.
43. I felt a level of immense powerlessness, fear, and utter humiliation that I had never felt before because a group of men at the top of the company knew intimate details about me and were actively discussing me. Vince revealed that he and WWE leadership determined that I was a corporate liability. He then told me that they needed me to leave the legal department immediately as my presence had affected their ability to hire a new General Counsel. To explain this, he revealed that the former General Counsel, Brian Nurse, had highly suspected or knew about Vince’s sexual relationship with me, and he brought it to the attention of Vince’s office during a meeting with Brad. As a result, Vince then flicked his wrist and stated it was “handled.” I understood this to mean that the General Counsel had identified Vince’s conduct with me as a liability to the Executive Office and was subsequently terminated.
44. Vince said that they were unable to hire a female candidate who operates “corporate” and “by the book,” and they had to wait on making the hire until I was removed from the legal department. I was instructed to drop my work, remove my presence from the legal department entirely (including clearing out my desk and removing myself from distribution lists), and he explicitly told me not to tell anyone about this.
45. Vince told me he was concerned about the Board of Directors inquiring about the delay in hiring a new General Counsel and emphasized the importance of hiring a General Counsel as a publicly traded company. Vince threatened that if the Board found out, a public nightmare would follow and that “I might have to fire the entire board” and involve his attorney, Jerry McDevitt. He said the possibility of firing the board wasn’t necessarily an obstacle because it is “my company,” “I control it,” and that he is the majority shareholder. But Vince listed off the serious harm that the company, his family, and I would suffer if any of this became public and that it has put the empire he has built on the line.
46. I remember feeling the most terrified I had ever felt in my life when Vince told me that he, together with Nick and Brad, had discussed all of this. He then bent forward in his chair, exhaled and said: “Unfortunately, you appear to have my company over a barrel,” and rested his forehead on my lap. Vince, who just told me he had the power to fire the entire board and who I viewed as having virtually limitless power in WWE, was seemingly vulnerable, which somehow felt like a trap and a threat from a group.
47. The more danger he said I posed to WWE, the more danger I felt I was in. I felt I was begging a group of men in ultimate power for survival, which was a new kind of humiliation in life I had not experienced before. Unable to form complete sentences, I groveled and repeated: “I’m scared, I don’t understand,” and “I’ll be ruined, what happens to me?” Vince responded that there was a plan and detailed what “they” needed me to do.
48. Vince informed me that their plan was to remove me from the legal department and immediately transfer me to Talent Relations in a role reporting to Johnny, who was officially being brought back to run that department as General Manager. To specifically pair me with Johnny, he explained, “makes sense” and cited Johnny’s ability to “protect” me, and how well Johnny and I were “getting along lately.” He added the role came with the expectation to “work hard and play hard,” which I understood to mean that I would be a corporate body part on demand for Vince and Johnny.
49. Months of aggressively monitored communications, demands for sexual content, hounding me to report back with proof of compliance and sexual performance, even days earlier, had led to this destination point: I had been doing it for my new boss.
50. Vince then disclosed, as background, that Johnny had been demoted from this role years ago due to having an “indiscretion” which resulted in “getting a woman under an NDA” and a million dollars out of Vince’s own pocket. Vince added that Johnny “owes” him for that, and that “they” were waiting on Johnny’s final sign off on the plan to relocate me. I felt I had walked into a carefully laid trap when I learned Johnny was being given control over me to engage in the same sexual behaviors for which he had been demoted years earlier.
51. Vince ended the meeting with their final instruction, which placed a limitation on who I could communicate with. Outside of the group essential to this plan, I was not allowed to discuss it with anyone and “especially not Rich [Hering].”
52. I understood “especially not Rich” to mean that Vince and WWE leadership anticipated I would confide in Rich and, if I did, I would be putting the legal department on notice of Vince’s sexual conduct, the group of executives who were making decisions based on that conduct, and its direct impact on the legal department. I understood, and I believed, that the phrase, “especially not Rich,” meant that this information was being purposefully withheld from the legal department. If this information was concealed, and my presence removed, this would finally allow the company to hire a new General Counsel.
53. To be clear, at no point did any of the executives discuss this plan, or the sexual relationship with Vince—including whether it was consensual—with me.
54. I felt used, leveraged, humiliated, shamed, dehumanized, intimidated, and exploited for the business and the sexual gratification of these men. I offered to leave WWE rather than be relocated to work under Johnny, but Vince would not allow it. I believed letting me go from WWE would solve everything but the group in ultimate leadership chose instead to keep me and relocate me away from the incoming General Counsel. My fear grew to the point that I feared walking to my car without someone causing me serious physical harm.
55. I lost sleep between March 9 and 10 and I had no time to process as, hours later, the plan began to manifest. The next morning, on March 10, 2021, I got a call from my boss in the legal department to inform me that Brad had put him on notice of my removal and relocation to a different department. The act of Brad removing me from the legal department before he, or anyone else besides Vince, had spoken to me, was destabilizing and left me in purgatory until Brad and I spoke later that day to confirm their plan.
56. I saw no way out of this, between Vince, Nick, Brad, Johnny, and the corporate plan that dealt with me, followed by Vince’s instructions to walk to my new boss’s hotel room (that WWE paid for) to sexually serve myself to him as “breakfast.” Weeks later, around the beginning of April, I found myself in such immense emotional and physical plain that I attempted suicide
57. When I told Vince about the failed attempt, and that I was lucky to be alive, he responded with a voice memo telling me what to do: “Go knock on Johnny’s door in the morning, Ok I’ll talk to you later I hope. Ok. Bye.” In line with Vince’s instruction, I again walked to Johnny’s hotel room the next morning to serve myself to him as “breakfast.” I was instructed to do this on at least five occasions, and I felt I had no other choice.
58. Around the same time, Vince also told me filming had started for a Netflix docuseries about Vince’s life and WWE, with one of the biggest budgets for a docuseries in Netflix history. I complied with this plan, particularly as I did not want my life blown up on national television during filming for Netflix and key WWE events.
59. In April 2021, I attended a meeting with Vince, Brad, Johnny, and another highranking SVP about rebuilding Talent Relations, the new department I had been placed into. Shortly after my transfer to the Talent Relations department, I was informed that I would be promoted to the role of Vice President of Operations before Vince shared the final version of their plan with me. Vince told me that they decided to start me in a director role which would lead to a promotion the following year and then spend another year getting experience which I could take elsewhere. I understood, and believed, that this group – the same of executive leadership whose plan had manifested to date – needed me to stay put in WWE for the remainder of 2021 and throughout 2022. I relied on this promise, and I was determined to survive one day into the next by working even harder.
60. Almost immediately after this plan took effect, Vince’s behaviors were more outrageous, and it felt like this plan gave Vince the ability to be the biggest version of himself in daylight at HQ. He later told me he had always known who he was, but he never had the opportunity to fully express himself until I was in his life and this “relationship” happened.
61. My relocation gave Vince easier access to me, as my new office was physically closer to his, and enabled him and Johnny to act on their sexual impulses, which they often did. My physical proximity also created and facilitated the opportunity for Vince to push me sexually at others, such as visiting talent, which he did.
62. Vince frequently interrupted my workday by walking to my desk where he knew he could do anything to me behind my locked door. For example:
a. In June 2021, I was raped on a table by Vince and Johnny during work hours while colleagues worked on the other side of the door. I was left to clean up after my own rape.
b. In July 2021, Vince and Johnny sexually assaulted me while standing and sandwiched in between them. They forcefully pushed and pulled me and shoved their hands in my dress and up between my legs. The force caused stitches to pop on my dress, and I subsequently blacked out.
c. In July 2021, Vince had Brad get me from Talent Relations, walk me to the Executive Office, and wait on the other side of the Chairman’s door while Vince offered me sexually to a WWE Talent. I later escorted this Talent out of HQ before any harm could happen.
d. Between Tuesdays and Thursdays, Vince regularly delayed and/or walked out of meetings in progress to drive home for sexual gratification and return hours later to HQ.
63. Throughout our entire “relationship,” Vince subjected me to physically violent sexual interactions with himself and others, causing both physical and mental trauma. Sex with Vince and others became so violent that I often cried and suffered physical side effects, including bleeding, swelling, bruising, and incontinence. As a result of the physical and psychological trauma, I also experienced panic attacks, sleep deprivation, dizziness, exhaustion, rashes, hair loss, severe weight loss, and migraines.
64. While I was being sexually and emotionally abused both at work and after work hours by the CEO of the company, I was aware that his top executives, Nick and Brad, were surveilling my every move and enabling Vince’s abuse.
The Direct Installation of Brock Lesnar into My Life
65. My awareness of Brock Lesnar’s fame as a UFC athlete pre-dates ever meeting Vince. In 2019, while my best friend and I watched Wrestlemania from the seats Vince selected for us, I witnessed the power of Brock’s presence when his entrance onto the stage in MetLife Stadium was met with blasts of pyrotechnics and the thunderous sound of over 80,000 people cheering for him. After joining WWE, I became aware of his status as a top talent and his importance to both WWE and Vince.
66. Early in 2021, while I was still working in the legal department, Vince described his fantasy of watching Brock engage in unmerciful sexual acts with me. At that point, I believed it was merely a fantasy.
67. By July of 2021, after my transfer to Talent Relations, Vince told me that he had recruited Brock as our next “playmate” and that he wanted Brock under a new booking contract with the company. This shocked me as it sounded so outrageous. The sheer lunacy of risk stunned me given the visibility of the people involved – WWE’s Chairman and CEO, and one of WWE’s top male talent – and that their sexual interests and expectations of me were, ultimately, in furtherance of a business deal. I felt like an object and a pawn being used for contract negotiations.
68. In July 2021, I was directed to create personalized explicit content for Brock, which I sent to Vince’s cell phone. Vince then facilitated the exchange with Brock, who I understood resided in Canada, and he exchanged explicit content with Brock himself. He told me Brock “likes what he sees[.]”
69. On July 21, 2021, Vince flew and/or caused Brock to fly on a jet into a local airport and travel into Connecticut for what Vince described as a “business dinner,” followed by a sexual encounter with me in Vince’s condo. I became aware of Brock’s presence inside my apartment building when a friend reached out to share that she had seen Brock and commented about his cowboy hat. I was later told Brock got “too drunk” and that was why he did not show up for the planned sexual encounter.
70. That night, Vince beat me mercilessly to “prepare” me for what sex would be like with Brock. Among other things, Vince pinned me down, dragged me around, ripped out my hair, slapped me, and fisted me. Following this beating, Vince would not let me leave his apartment until I agreed that I was okay and not upset by the beating. I dealt with the physical, psychological, and emotional side effects of that beating for days afterwards.
71. Vince continued to advertise me as part of the deal to convince Brock to sign a new contract and facilitate the exchange of explicit content with Brock. In or around August 2021, Vince told me, and I believed, that during one of these exchanges, he made a bet with Brock about who could physically rip me open the farthest. As part of this bet, Vince selected an unusually large sex toy and stated it would be used to show Brock how far Vince could rip me open with it, which he’d mark with a line and then mail to Brock with my DNA still on it. Vince then fulfilled his side of the bet, brutalized me with the toy, and set it aside. He shared that he had an exchange with Brock about sending it to him, but I am unaware whether the toy was actually sent to Brock.
72. In late August 2021, Vince told me that he and Brock reached a private informal agreement for Brock to return to WWE, which he referred to as a “handshake deal.”
73. In the months ahead, I was privy to conversations that Vince had about the formation of Brock’s new multi-year contract, including terms relating to his annual compensation, the limited dates he would work, and other perks related to travel, such as a luxury bus rental. From my prior experience in the legal department and then in Talent Relations, I knew that this made Brock among the highest paid talent, in comparison to other talent contracts.
74. On December 17, 2021, while WWE was in Illinois for the taping of RAW, I got a text at 4:29 p.m. from a number I didn’t recognize, stating: “Hi, this is Polish Joe” with a kiss emoji. I momentarily froze in confusion before Vince text me at 4:30 p.m. that “Brock (Polish Joe) is going to text U in a few mins.”
75. I replied to Vince first with two questions: why is Brock texting me and do I call him Polish Joe? Vince explained on a phone call that Brock was the one who requested my number, and to go along with calling him “Joe.” He reminded me of the promise that he had made to Brock that I would “do anything” and to give Brock whatever he wants. Vince told me he was excited to see the exchanges between Brock and me and hear the stories as I reported them back to him.
76. I understood that I was expected to sexually engage with Brock directly and report all interactions back to Vince. Vince even provided me with feedback about my first text response to Brock, by saying, “Good text re Joe,” before any subsequent messages were exchanged.
77. One hour after Brock’s first text to me, he sent another, stating: “I wish you were in Chicago tonight.” In that moment, I felt a panicked pressure to respond, fully aware that Vince was already monitoring this exchange, and I felt broken. My attempt at avoidance was to pivot and respond with a deflect, asking for proof that this was really Brock texting me. He replied, “I have trust issues” followed by a non-sexual picture of himself in a grey sweater Three minutes later, he sent three text messages to me in a row: “show me your meat!!” “pls,” and “you should get on a plane and come too Chicago.” I responded with another deflect about how I admired his manners.
78. After one more deflect, I was afraid that I was about to get in trouble with Vince and/or Brock, as Brock’s tone was sexual while mine was evasive. I did what I felt was the bare minimum Vince would accept by taking a selfie, nude only from the waist up, and sent it to Brock.
79. Attempting to pivot away from the overtly sexual exchange, I asked Brock if he was going to be at the TV taping in Uncasville, CT on January 7, 2022. He replied that he didn’t think he was working in January. He then expressed, “You should come too Atlanta January 1” which I understood as referring to his upcoming appearance in the Day One event broadcast from the State Farm Arena in Atlanta.
80. I was mentally and emotionally drained after the exchange, which also served as a preview: I now understood that I would not only be expected to perform sexually for Brock, but I would also be expected to travel to other states to do so. I felt sick at this realization. I attempted to run interference before this progressed further by circling back to Vince with a message about my apprehension about this continuing, saying twice in one message alone that it felt wrong, and ending the message with, “I just need to say that.”
81. Vince’s response was to instruct me to move forward with Brock. He stated, “Baby because we’re closer than ever before and our hearts beat as one,” and “This is just pure unadulterated fun for me and U and Brock. 4 all of Us. Let’s cut loose. No inhibitions.”
82. Brock and I began to have more conversations in the days ahead. Throughout our conversations, Brock told me that the reason he returned to WWE was for Vince, based on Vince’s promise to him that Vince would personally oversee everything related to his “creative” because he trusts Vince.
83. Brock also told me Vince promised him a lot as it relates to me and asked me questions about how long I had known Vince, how many times a week did Vince and I hook up, what did we do during hook ups, and so on. Brock caught me off guard when he asked about how the idea started as it related to him and asked me why I wanted to hook up with him personally. I did not have a true answer to this, as I was only engaging with him at Vince’s direction, not due to a personal desire I had.
84. I was conditioned to turn to Vince for any cover stories about who I was in order to keep our stories aligned. The first night I began engaging with Brock, I forgot to ask Vince for what my cover story about my identity was, or how I should conduct myself. Brock told me that he was already aware I worked for WWE. But when I began to talk about Talent Relations, he suddenly reacted with rage, expressing both that he hates Talent Relations, especially Johnny, and that he thought I was working in the legal department.
85. I never expected, nor did Vince ever mention prior to this time, that I would be expected to communicate directly with Brock, rather than through Vince as the conduit. I quickly realized this arrangement set me up to violate a core rule in the Talent Relations department, which forbids employees from fraternizing with the talent. I was aware that inappropriate interactions between employees and talent was cause for termination and, therefore, Vince’s direction to me to give Brock anything he wants would be grounds for my termination. I felt that if I did anything wrong to disobey either Brock or Vince, they already had me and my job backed into a corner.
86. On December 26, 2021, Brock sent me an unsolicited picture of his genitals. I remembered how uncomfortable I was when Vince showed my explicit photos to the WWE Referee without my permission, so I did not send him directly the explicit picture Brock had sent me. I reported to Vince that I had received an explicit photo from Brock. Vince sent me a voice memo in which he sounded very excited and instructed me to “[w]rite all this down so U won’t forget plz[.]” I subsequently showed him the picture in person, at his request, either on the night of December 26, or the following night on December 27, 2021, when I sat next to Vince as he directed that night’s broadcast of RAW from his living room couch.
87. On December 31, 2021, Brock requested something of me that I had never done before, never thought about, and never wanted to do. I felt less than human when I filmed myself urinating for the first time. I felt I had no choice but to comply.
88. On January 1, 2022, Vince messaged me, “U have to take a flight to Greenville South Carolina this Monday. Even if it’s just to C Brock. I bet he calls U tonight :)” He then messaged me a confirmation about writing Brock into a TV broadcast taking place in Uncasville, CT on January 7, 2022, which I understood to mean he would facilitate a sexual encounter between Brock and me in connection with that event.
89. On January 2, 2022, Brock confirmed his appearance for the Uncasville broadcast, and he also requested that I film myself urinating and send it to him. I obeyed.
90. On January 5, 2022, Brock texted me the address of his hotel in Uncasville, confirming when he was flying in and that he was staying overnight in that hotel. The following day we spoke on the phone after he texted me, “U free too chat?” followed by another picture of his genitals.
91. On January 7, 2022, a snowstorm occurred that provided an excuse for me to avoid traveling to Brock’s hotel. I was relieved and grateful for the excuse to bow out of the exchange, and then I got this text from Brock: “I was really looking forward too plowing you tonight!!”
Vince Coerced Me to Sign an NDA Under Duress
92. On January 9, 2022, Vince invited me to his condo for a conversation. This was in line with his pattern of disclosing developments in the late evening about the liability I posed to the company, which intimidated me, incited fear and caused me to lose sleep.
93. Vince expressed to me that I not only had the company over a barrel, but now an anonymous source was actively leaking information about his sexual conduct with someone who has a presence in HQ. I understood this to be a reference to me. Vince said that he could lose his power, marriage, and home in a way that would be a public nightmare for both of us and require him to involve McDevitt, unless I came up with a solution for damage control. Vince told me he did not know the identity of the source leaking the information but expressed someone was trying to hurt him, which made me collateral damage.
94. Overwhelmed with panic, I cried. In response to an active threat of imminent harm, and in exchange for safety and protection, I told Vince that my time at WWE had to come to an end and offered to resign. My reaction was a survival response. Vince was my sole source of information about, and protection from, what I perceived to be an active threat.
95. Vince said he believed that a resignation and “signed paperwork” would satisfy his wife enough to call off a divorce, protect his home, and protect us from public headlines. I expressed fear that this unknown source could weaponize my explicit content and cause me serious harm and public humiliation by publishing it. Vince would not answer who he shared my content with but rather said that thousands of men had probably seen it. Vince said that the compromising materials, that type that could be used to blackmail me, which I interpreted any saved sex tapes, pornographic material, and letters he requested, were locked in his personal safe.
96. On January 9, 2022, Vince provided instructions for my exit, including: (1) not to go into HQ; (2) minimize remote work presence; (3) do not discuss the situation with anyone inside or outside of WWE; (4) Vince would tell me what I could discuss and with whom; (5) if anyone asked questions, he approved of using my “health” as a cover story; (6) remain under Dr. Colker’s medical care; and (7) at some later date, retain a lawyer as a formality. He approved of me getting a referral for an attorney from Dr. Colker. Vince told me that Nick Khan and Brad Blum were already on notice of my resignation, and were willing to assist with letters of recommendation, coaching, and finding me a position at another company.
97. Vince had an immediate answer to my question about who in WWE’s legal department would see any paperwork related to me. Vince replied that no one would see it because these agreements do not go through the legal department. He said paperwork will go to K&L Gates (McDevitt’s law firm), where it will be put into a dusty drawer along with “the others.” I was terrified, shocked, and unable to process what was being demanded of me.
98. He proceeded to have a sexual encounter with me, during which he expressed that he loved me. Before leaving, he stated that he wanted me to continue engaging sexually with Brock, including reminding me to report back to him all of my exchanges with him, particularly as I had not yet shared the urination videos that I created and sent to Brock upon his request.
99. On January 10, 2022, the next day, Brock checked on me via text message. I reported the texts to Vince, in compliance with his instructions hours earlier. Vince then attempted to set up a sexual encounter between me and Brock that same night in Philadelphia. He gave me the time and order of Brock’s WWE segment, detailed the length of my commute to Brock, and said, “have some fun with him.” Too distressed to drive, I sent a lengthy reply and said I was unstable, in a complete state of shock, scared that some unknown person was actively trying to hurt both of us, and physically sick as a result of recent events.
100. Later that night, Vince contacted me again to monitor the progress of the exchanges with Brock, probing, “R U keeping me up on all the Brock pics, texts and video Ur sending Brock?” He also texted me a selfie of his groin. After Brock’s segment finished on live TV, Vince checked in yet again to gauge my reaction to Brock’s performance.
101. On January 11, 2022, I sent Vince an early morning text again explaining my continued state of shock, concern, and distress, and that I had not been sleeping. Later in the day, I forwarded my text exchanges with Brock in accordance with Vince’s prior instructions. That afternoon, Vince asked me to visit him in his condo. He provided me with affection, assured me that he loved me, and told me he was looking forward to the future. He also touched me sexually and invited me to sleep over the following night.
102. On January 12, 2022, I sent a series of panicked and paranoid text messages detailing my depression, mistrust of everyone around me, and a screenshot of my step counter to illustrate the impact my distress was having on my physical mobility.
103. On January 13, 2022, I went to Vince’s condo around 1:45 a.m. for the “sleepover” as instructed. Following a sexual encounter, during which Vince stated he was “making love” to me, I stayed awake, unable to sleep, as he slept beside me. Later that day, I again sent a series of texts to Vince detailing my mental state, suicidal thoughts, and doubts and concerns for my safety and reputation. I took an excessive amount of prescription sleep medication because I was exhausted and looking for an escape. Vince sent me a voice memo that morning stating, “I want exactly the same thing as you do” and “there’s no question you’re going to come out of this with your reputation intact and with me.” Again, I believed him.
104. During this time, Vince unilaterally brought up the topic of money. We sat next to each other in his living room when he suddenly smiled widely, slapped my thigh, and blurted out that he would give me a million dollars to sign paperwork. I was blindsided, and my feelings quickly progressed from stunned to disgusted and enraged. I responded with non-committal answers and pivots, saying I needed time to think about it. I had no desire to sign paperwork or receive any money, so I would have said anything to get him to stop badgering me about it. The next day, Vince called to inform me, at McDevitt’s purported direction, that payments would be installments due to “cash flow purposes.” I never asked about the payment structure.
105. On January 14, 2022, Vince texted me a picture of a to-do list drafted by Brad, which included instructions for me to resign from WWE, hire an attorney, and finalize the NDA. Vince sent an accompanying voice memo, in which he said that he and Nick were ready to “rehome” me at a company like NBC or ESPN, and Nick would be the one making the call to their contacts there.
106. On January 15, 2022, Vince checked in with me after I had gone quiet. He assured me we would come out of this together. I reported to Vince that Brock checked in with me and sought instructions from Vince on disclosing my departure from the company to Brock. Vince responded, “Don’t string him too far along. He doesn’t play games . . . he’ll go to the grave with secrets,” and days later, “Brock is going to want U more than ever.”
107. On January 18, 2022, I told Vince about the rashes that developed all over my face and body due to my distress related to the NDA, groveled for attention, and desperately sought assurances.
108. On January 19, 2022, Vince ordered me to get an attorney referral and give it to him that same day because I had refused to do so up until that point. He advised me to treat the attorney as a formality. He also told me to avoid disclosing any information to my counsel other than basic details, such as my name and address. An hour later, I texted confirmation that I had messaged Dr. Colker for the attorney referral. After Dr. Colker gave me the referral, I texted Vince, “can you tell I’m scared?”
109. I texted Vince later that night that I felt scared, isolated, and vulnerable. I told him that “I’m really not ok…It’s painfully scary to be this vulnerable as you are the only person in the world I trust implicitly. And not to mention the only one I can even talk to.”
110. On January 20, 2022, at 10:54 a.m., McDevitt, from his personal AIM address, sent an initial draft of the NDA to my attorney, but not to me. Less than an hour after the initial draft was sent, at 11:28 a.m., Johnny texted me that Vince had notified him of my “resignation” and said, “Janel, I am here to help you.”
111. A few hours later, at 3:28 p.m., I texted Vince that I was sick and hiding under the covers, and that the last time I felt this sick was when my father died. He replied at 3:44 p.m., demanding that I “get this done and over with . . . by tomorrow if possible,” and to remain in touch with him while he was traveling. I did not even know a draft had been sent, as I had not seen any paperwork yet, because it had only been sent to my attorney a few hours earlier. I spoke to my attorney shortly thereafter, and at 4:22 p.m., I told Vince that my attorney was concerned that the language of the NDA could be construed as me already violating it before I even signed it.
112. McDevitt’s initial draft and the virtual absence of my attorney, whom I had never met and was explicitly instructed by Vince to withhold information from, left me feeling utterly confused and trapped. I was determined to avoid signing the paperwork entirely and spent the next five days avoiding my attorney, pursuing a new job, and attempting to prove to Vince that this paperwork was not necessary.
113. On January 24, 2022, I texted Vince saying, “I’m so broken and lost I can’t stop crying,” regarding the NDA process. In response, Vince told me that he just booked Brock to perform in a live event at Madison Square Garden on March 5, and that he expected me to have a sexual encounter with Brock while he was in New York for that event.
114. During this time, I continued to sexually engage with male talent at Vince’s direction, including phone calls with Brock and another male talent with whom Vince had previously attempted to orchestrate a sexual encounter with months earlier, both of which I reported back to Vince.
115. Additionally, I continued to sexually engage with Vince through sexual acts, pictures, texts, and phone calls, as though nothing had changed. He also continued to monitor my interactions with Brock, saying, “I Hope Ur sharing some of these Flaming Hot pics with Brock?” followed by, “Send me the dirtiest pics U sent Brock . . . That’s going to put me over the top !!!”
116. On or about January 25, 2022, Vince told me that McDevitt had not signed an affidavit that was needed for an upcoming board meeting regarding potential corporate liabilities and blamed me having not signed the NDA yet as the cause for the delay. I sought advice from my attorney regarding what Vince could possibly mean, as I had never threatened litigation. Having worked in the legal department, I knew that any perceived or threatened litigation would trigger a record hold letter, and either Johnny or I would have received a record hold letter about me, which had not happened.
117. I then faced significant backlash from Vince for disobeying his instruction not to share any information with my attorney. He attacked my attorney’s competence and wordsmithing, saying he did not trust my attorney and that he and McDevitt believed my attorney posed a threat to them because he had information he could leak, including anything that I may have shared with him. This effectively villainized my attorney to me, as I believed that I couldn’t trust him if Vince, who agreed to pay for my representation, and his attorney didn’t trust him. This isolated me further, eliminating any competing outside influences.
118. On January 26, 2022, I visited Vince in his condo and pleaded for him to let me back out of the NDA. I told Vince that I do not understand the purpose of paperwork and lawyers, expressed that it wasn’t necessary, and argued that we should call it off. I pointed out that he put executives on notice that I was leaving, my physical presence was gone, the process of resigning was largely complete — all achieved without paperwork or money. I even offered to sign a Postit or napkin as a gesture of goodwill. Vince responded that we “need” to go through with the NDA. He instructed me not to read the document at all and said that I was not looking at this the right way. He told me to stop focusing on the words of the document, but rather the effect the NDA would have: protect us and give us peace. He told me that we are in the driver’s seat and dictating what we want from our attorneys. Vince also told me, and I believed, that Nick and Brad were on notice about the NDA and were waiting for me to sign it.
119. On January 27, 2022, at 1:55 a.m., Vince texted me a voice memo that started with “we have to do it and here’s why,” where he echoed my request to back out of paperwork while he told me the truth about why he needed my signature and on a deadline. Vince said his attorney had to inform the WWE Audit Committee that there was no pending or threatened litigation. I did not understand this because I had not threatened litigation against Vince or WWE. Vince stressed that I needed to sign the agreement by January 31. He said he would be “double-fucked” if I didn’t sign the agreement, referring to a divorce and ousting from WWE. I interpreted Vince’s words on the recording as an explicit threat of ‘sign it or else’ on a deadline that backed me into a corner and made me understand I was not free to leave.
120. Hours later, Vince moved the deadline up to January 28, instead of January 31. I pleaded again with Vince to let me back out of the NDA. The progression of heartbreak to terror caused me to become so physically ill that I felt I would never be free of WWE. I did not sleep between January 26 and January 27 and told Vince that I had not slept.
121. Operating on no sleep and believing that Vince would not relent until I agreed to sign, I asked my attorney to review the document quickly that day so I could get it done with sooner and move on. I still believed that something would change and I could get out of signing the agreement.
122. On January 27, 2022, at 5:38 p.m., my attorney emailed McDevitt a draft in an attachment titled “Confidentiality Agreement (Grant) 1-27.22 docx” to review. At 7:01 p.m., Vince texted me a clean, different version of the agreement, titled “Confidential Settlement Agreement (J. Grant)-311580421-v2.pdf” to sign immediately. At 8:56 p.m., McDevitt used his personal AIM email address to reply and inform my attorney that he was unable to open my attorney’s draft and instead circulated his own draft the next day. A true and accurate copy of the email I received from my attorney, forwarding McDevitt’s email to me at 8:58 p.m., is appended hereto as Exhibit A.
123. I did not sleep between January 27 and January 28, and again I texted Vince about the sleepless night.
124. On January 28, 2022, at 10:04 a.m., McDevitt sent his draft to my attorney and said that it reflected conversations that he understood Vince and I were having. He added, “it is my sense that the parties want to wrap this up today.” A true and accurate copy of the email I received from my attorney, forwarding McDevitt’s email to me at 12:08 p.m., is appended hereto as Exhibit B.
125. At 3:15 p.m., my attorney replied to McDevitt’s email with his draft. A true and accurate copy of the email I received from my attorney, forwarding his email correspondence with McDevitt to me at 3:16 p.m., is appended hereto as Exhibit C.
126. Later that same day, while I was in Connecticut and Vince was traveling for a live TV taping, he called to inform me that he and McDevitt had argued about my not having signed the NDA. Vince said McDevitt directed him to deal with me himself. Vince said he would not call McDevitt back and that it was in my hands to get this done. I again made one last plea to back out of the NDA. Vince reacted with fury. We engaged in several calls during which he yelled at me and threatened that we would suffer serious harm if I did not sign the paperwork by 8:00 p.m., including public harm to him, his family and marriage, his empire, my reputation, and my safety. Life as I knew it would “blow up” unless I signed the NDA, and I would be solely responsible for the consequences. The threat of losing my reputation and safety, and what McDevitt was capable of, carried with it a brutal reality and finality. I was terrified for my life and the hurt I would suffer if I did not sign.
127. This moment of crisis was my breaking point. Terrified and sleep-deprived for multiple consecutive days, I was unable to make sense of anything. I felt I was trapped in a system of exploitation, where anyone could weaponize information about me and blackmail me, and this NDA did not solve the problem of an “anonymous source” actively leaking information about me. I became suicidal and considered jumping to my death to avoid the hell my life was about to become.
128. There was immense pressure to sign as soon as possible. I had no choice. I signed the NDA on January 28, 2022, to avoid the global public humiliation that Vince threatened and the private torture he inflicted. With an 8:00 p.m. deadline looming, I texted the executed signature page to Vince at 7:47 p.m. as “proof,” then I emailed a signed copy to my attorney at 7:50 p.m. I do not even know which version of the agreement I signed at that time.
129. At 8:42 p.m., my attorney emailed me explaining his concerns with the NDA and the negotiation process, including the fact that McDevitt had been unresponsive that day. Per Vince’s instructions, I did not tell my attorney that I had already sent Vince a copy of the executed signature page. At 9:09 p.m., I texted Vince that I was scared about everything and begged him to call me. On that call, I cried that my life was now in his hands and begged him to let me be small and live a quiet life. I admitted to Vince that I was having suicidal thoughts and wanted to jump off my balcony.
130. I have no memories of the arbitration clause. I do not remember discussing it with either Vince or my attorney. I do not recall reviewing it. I do not recall either McDevitt or my attorney making revisions to it. I was in an extreme state of distress, sleep deprivation, and fear throughout the entirety of the NDA period, including during the drafting of the arbitration provision. I do not recall agreeing to arbitrate.
The Assaults and Manipulation Continued After the NDA Was Signed
131. On February 4, 2022, WWE wired the first $1,000,000 installment to my bank account. That day, I again shared my suicidal thoughts with Vince.
132. Approximately a week after the NDA was signed, Vince told me to come to his condo. As I was leaving, he said I had to do “one last thing,” and then he told me to get on my knees. He opened his robe and demanded that I “eat” him, grabbed my head, and forced his penis into my mouth. I gagged against the force. I pushed him away and begged him to stop. He told me that I couldn’t get away that easily and forced his penis back into my mouth, choking me and holding my head against his crotch until I couldn’t breathe. “Take it, bitch!” he said. I couldn’t fight my way loose. He demanded that I look up; I made eye contact with him as tears streamed from my eyes and I gagged violently. He finally let me go and walked away, as I lay on the floor retching.
133. On or around February 10, 2022, as a formality, I called HR and Johnny about my resignation. HR set my last day for March 4, 2022, even though I had not physically been in the office since the first week of January.
134. On February 14, 2022, Vince gifted me a large flower bouquet and scripted a moment on that night’s live episode of RAW involving a talent that Vince had encouraged me to have sex with. The next day, Vince followed up and texted, “Why don’t you congratulate him?” I told Vince I was confused about the scope of the NDA, particularly regarding who I was allowed to talk to.
135. I asked whether I should still be texting with Brock, and Vince confirmed that we were moving forward with his planned sexual encounter between me and Brock as expected in New York City, and as part of a special booking at a live event at Madison Square Garden on March 5. Vince even sent an all-caps reply, “YES.”
136. On March 2, 2022, I had a long and erratic call with Vince. He indicated that we should not speak for a while and told me we would resume contact and sex after WrestleMania. He also identified who I was expected to engage sexually with in the meantime, approved of me calling him for “one emergency call” related to a pending job application, and told me to call Nick and Brad if I needed assistance with anything.
137. After my March 2nd call with Vince, Brock and I continued to exchange texts. Brock said that he was in New York City and asked questions related to my location. In accordance with Vince’s prior demands, I texted Brock explicit content to appease him. Brock continued to contact me through March 27, 2022, two months after the NDA was signed.
You can view the full declaration, including the attached Exhibits, at this link.
John Laurinaitis’ attorney Edward M Brennan provided the following statement to POST Wrestling:
“My client has no need to comment on this salacious affidavit. Anyone can make allegations. Whether those allegations can withstand the harsh sunlight of cross-examination is another matter entirely. I note that after two-plus years of litigation, Mr. Laurinaitis remains the only party exonerated by an independent investigation commissioned by the WWE Board of Directors to review these matters and the only person dismissed, with prejudice, from this lawsuit. Those facts speak louder than any allegations made to buttress a suspect claim.”
Previous and future updates on this case can be found at this link.
