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Journalism of Courage
Vince McMahon, chairman of the board & chief executive officer of World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE), has arguably been one of the central figures in the rise of the company since the Attitude Era. As a third-generation promoter of pro wrestling, his business acumen has helped WWE become a global phenomenon that generates almost $1 billion in annual revenue (according to Forbes).
However, the 76-year-old has had his fair share of controversies in the past, and in the latest, it was reported by the Wall Street Journal on Wednesday that the WWE board is investigating a ‘$3 million hush-money settlement‘ that McMahon paid to an ex-employee with whom he’d had an alleged affair.
According to an article on wsj.com, WWE board members are “investigating a secret $3 million settlement that longtime chief executive Vince McMahon agreed to pay to a departing employee with whom he allegedly had an affair, according to documents and people familiar with the board inquiry.”
The report authored by Wall Street Journal’s Joe Palazzolo and Ted Mann also goes on to reveal that the WWE board began the investigation in April and encountered previous NDA’s (non-disclosure agreements) with former female WWE employees who made allegations of misconduct against McMahon & John Laurinaitis.
“The board’s investigation, which began in April, has unearthed other, older nondisclosure agreements involving claims by former female WWE employees of misconduct by Mr. McMahon and one of his top executives, John Laurinaitis, the head of talent relations at WWE, the people said. The Journal couldn’t determine how many previous agreements were being scrutinized,” per the WSJ report.
As per the report, the matter came to light after the WWE board received anonymous emails revealing the $3 million payment, allegedly paid for by McMahon from his personal funds.
The report also goes on to say that the emails were sent by a friend of the employee in question and that the woman “was so scared so she quit after Vince McMahon and lawyer Jerry [McDevitt] paid her millions of dollars to shut up.”
Further, the January 2022 separation agreement bars the now-former employee, who was hired as a paralegal in 2019, from discussing her relationship with Mr. McMahon or disparaging him, the people said.
A WWE spokesman was also quoted as saying that the company is cooperating with the ongoing inquiry and that the relationship between Mr McMahon and the woman was consensual.
However, in a letter to The Wall Street Journal, Mr. McMahon’s attorney, Jerry McDevitt, stated the woman did not make any claims of harassment against Mr McMahon and that “WWE did not pay any monies” to the ex-employee “on her departure.”
