WWE co-founder and wrestling icon Vince McMahon has resigned from the organisation’s parent company after being accused of sexual misconduct and sex trafficking.
Former employee Janel Grant filed a graphic lawsuit on Thursday that included claims she was offered to an unnamed star wrestler for sex.
McMahon denies the allegations but has stepped down as executive chairman of the board of directors at TKO Group, the firm said.
The 78-year-old faces multiple accusations, including forcing Grant into a sexual relationship to keep her job and sharing pornographic photos and videos of her with other men, including WWE staff.
Ms Grant worked in WWE’s legal and talent departments and agreed to be named in the case.
The lawsuit, filed in Connecticut, claims McMahon subjected her to “acts of extreme cruelty and degradation” that caused her to “become numb to reality in order to survive the horrific encounters”.
Another man accused in the case is John Laurinaitis, the company’s former head of talent relations and general manager, who has not yet commented.
More from US
McMahon said on Friday he was resigning “out of respect” for WWE and TKO Group.
He added: “I stand by my prior statement that Ms Grant’s lawsuit is replete with lies, obscene made-up instances that never occurred, and is a vindictive distortion of the truth.
Advertisement
“I intend to vigorously defend myself against these baseless accusations, and look forward to clearing my name.”
Image: McMahon at Wrestlemania 2022. Pic: Reuters / Joe Camporeale-USA TODAY Sports
A number of screenshots of explicit messages allegedly sent by McMahon to Ms Grant were included in the court documents.
The lawsuit also claims WWE “benefited financially” from a “commercial sex act venture orchestrated by McMahon” by having wrestling talent sign new contracts after presenting Ms Grant “as a sexual commodity for their use”.
Ms Grant is seeking compensation and to have the court void a $3m (£2.35m) non-disclosure agreement, of which she alleges she received only $1m (£735,000).
Image: WWE last year became part of the newly created TKO Group. Pic: Reuters
He led the organisation for decades and was familiar to wrestling fans around the world.
The former wrestler used scripted matches, celebrity wrestlers and glitz to appeal to TV audiences, with revenue boosted by pay-per-view events such as Wrestlemania.
One of his iconic on-screen moments was in 2007 when he started a feud with Donald Trump.
WWE merged last year with the firm that runs the UFC (Ultimate Fighting Championship) to create the $21bn company TKO Group Holdings, where McMahon was executive chairman of the board until Friday.
Earlier this week, TKO Group said it was taking the claims “very seriously”.
“Mr McMahon does not control TKO nor does he oversee the day-to-day operations of WWE,” it said.
“While this matter pre-dates our TKO executive team’s tenure at the company, we take Ms Grant’s horrific allegations very seriously and are addressing this matter internally.”
A man has been arrested on suspicion of assault and sexual assault – which reportedly took place on the set of EastEnders.
The alleged incident happened on the set of the BBC soap at Elstree Studios in Hertfordshire, according to The Sun newspaper.
Hertfordshire Police confirmed a man in his 50s was arrested after the report in Eldon Avenue, Borehamwood, on 7 May.
The man is accused of sexual assault and common assault in relation to two victims, the force said.
The suspect is on bail while inquiries continue, police added.
EastEnders said in a statement: “While we would never comment on individuals, EastEnders has on-site security and well-established procedures in place to safeguard the safety and welfare of everyone who works on the show.”
BST Hyde Park festival has cancelled its final night after Jeff Lynne’s Electric Light Orchestra pulled out of the headline slot.
Lynne, 77, was due to play alongside his band on Sunday but has been forced to withdraw from the event following a “systemic infection”.
The London show was supposed to be a “final goodbye” from ELO following their farewell US tour.
Organisers said on Saturday that Lynne was “heartbroken” at being unable to perform.
A statement read: “Jeff has been battling a systemic infection and is currently in the care of a team of doctors who have advised him that performing is simply not possible at this time nor will he be able to reschedule.
“The legacy of the band and his longtime fans are foremost in Jeff’s mind today – and while he is so sorry that he cannot perform, he knows that he must focus on his health and rehabilitation at this time.”
They later confirmed the whole of Sunday’s event would be cancelled.
“Ticket holders will be refunded and contacted directly by their ticket agent with further details,” another statement said.
Stevie Wonder played the festival on Saturday – now its final event of 2025.
US rock band The Doobie Brothers and blues rock singer Steve Winwood were among those who had been due to perform to before ELO’s headline performance.
The cancellation comes after the band, best known for their hit Mr Blue Sky, pulled out of a performance due to take place at Manchester’s Co-Op Live Arena on Thursday.
ELO was formed in Birmingham in 1970 by Lynne, multi-instrumentalist Roy Wood and drummer Bev Bevan.
They first split in 1986, before frontman Lynne resurrected the band in 2014.
Donald Trump has said he is considering “taking away” the US citizenship of actress and comedian Rosie O’Donnell, despite a Supreme Court ruling that expressly prohibits a government from doing so.
In a post on Truth Social on Saturday, the US president said: “Because of the fact that Rosie O’Donnell is not in the best interests of our Great Country, I am giving serious consideration to taking away her Citizenship.”
He also labelled O’Donnell, who has moved to Ireland, as a “threat to humanity” and said she should “remain in the wonderful country of Ireland, if they want her”.
O’Donnell responded on Instagram by posting a photograph of Mr Trump with Jeffrey Epstein.
“You are everything that is wrong with America and I’m everything you hate about what’s still right with it,” she wrote in the caption.
“I’m not yours to silence. I never was.”
Image: Rosie O’Donnell moved to Ireland after Donald Trump secured a second term. Pic: AP
O’Donnell moved to Ireland with her 12-year-old son in January after Mr Trump had secured a second term.
She has said she’s in the process of obtaining Irish citizenship based on family lineage and that she would only return to the US “when it is safe for all citizens to have equal rights there in America”.
O’Donnell and the US president have criticised each other publicly for years, in an often-bitter back-and-forth that predates Mr Trump’s move into politics.
Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player
2:46
Will Trump address parliament on UK state visit?
This is just the latest threat by the president to revoke the citizenship of someone he has disagreed with, most recently his former ally Elon Musk.
But the two situations are different as while Musk was born in South Africa, O’Donnell was born in the US and has a constitutional right to American citizenship.
Amanda Frost, a law professor at the University of Virginia School of Law, said the Supreme Court ruled in a 1967 case that the fourteenth amendment of the constitution prevents the government from taking away citizenship.
“The president has no authority to take away the citizenship of a native-born US citizen,” he added.
“In short, we are nation founded on the principle that the people choose the government; the government cannot choose the people.”