Vince McMahon steps down from TKO Group board of directors amid sex trafficking lawsuit

WWE co-founder Vince McMahon has resigned from his position as executive chairman of the board of TKO Group Holdings, according to Joe Otterson of Variety.

“I wanted to inform you that Vince McMahon has tendered his resignation from his positions as TKO Executive Chairman and on the TKO Board of Directors,” WWE president Nick Khan said in an email to staff. “He will no longer have a role with TKO Group holdings or WWE.”

McMahon’s resignation comes one day after former WWE employee Janel Grant filed a lawsuit against him, the company and former WWE executive John Laurinaitis, alleging that McMahon sexually abused and exploited her. The lawsuit also states that McMahon trafficked her to other men, including Laurinaitis.

Grant alleges that McMahon forced her into a sexual relationship in order for her to obtain and keep her job. McMahon allegedly passed around pornographic photos and video of her to other employees and forced her to “create personalized sexual content for a WWE superstar that he [McMahon] was trying to re-sign.”

While the lawsuit doesn’t state the superstar’s name, it identifies him as a “former UFC heavyweight champion.” Per the report from The Wall Street Journal, people familiar with the matter identified the superstar as Brock Lesnar, one of WWE’s biggest stars.

McMahon released a statement announcing his resignation and doubled down on a previous statement saying that the lawsuit is “replete with lies, obscene made-up instances that never occurred, and is a vindictive distortion of the truth.”

Vince McMahon maintains innocence in new statement

“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,” McMahon said in a statement. “I intend to vigorously defend myself against these baseless accusations, and look forward to clearing my name.

“However, out of respect for the WWE Universe, the extraordinary TKO business and its board members and shareholders, partners and constituents, and all of the employees and Superstars who helped make WWE into the global leader it is today, I have decided to resign from my executive chairmanship and the TKO board of directors, effective immediately.”

McMahon, 78, previously stepped down as WWE chairman and CEO in June 2022 after the company’s board launched an investigation into alleged hush-money payments to women who accused him of sexual misconduct over a period of nearly two decades. He returned to the company in January 2023 as executive chairman to help lead the company’s effort to sell. That April, WWE officially sold to Endeavor.

This past September, Endeavor and WWE announced the closing of its merger and the launch of TKO, bringing WWE and the UFC under one roof. Endeavor owns 51% of the new company while WWE shareholders possess 49% of it.