Vince McMahon, already going through a bombshell sexual assault and trafficking lawsuit, can be being accused of covering up the alleged rape of one of his former female talents — who later died by suicide — as well as sexually harassing her.
John Laurinitis, the previous head of Expertise Relations and a co-defendant within the swimsuit introduced forth by former WWE worker Janel Grant, was additionally implicated, in accordance with VICE Information.
Laurinitis and “most upper-level administration” in WWE have been conscious of the allegations — Massaro, in a sworn affidavit launched after her dying in 2019, stated she was injected with a paralytic drug and raped by a person who claimed to be a U.S. Military physician on a base in Kuwait, whereas the WWE was on tour there in 2006 — in accordance with Laurinitis’ lawyer, who objected to the time period “cover-up.”
WWE previously claimed that execs have been unaware of Massaro’s allegations.
“He advised me to not let one dangerous expertise wreck the great work they have been doing,” Massaro stated of McMahon within the affidavit, per VICE Information.
The Naval Legal Intelligence Service opened up an investigation into the alleged rape in June 2019 however closed it just a few months later, VICE Information reported.
Massaro’s lawyer Konstantine Kryos has claimed Massaro’s WWE profession ended when she denied McMahon’s advances. Her ex-boyfriend, former WWE wrestler Paul London, has additionally said on the Cafe de Rene with Rene Dupree podcast that Massaro was a sufferer of McMahon’s sexual misconduct.
“And so my understanding from Ashley, and I feel this was that is well-known to anyone with even distant familiarity with the, you realize, the ins and outs of the WWE,” Kryos stated on NewsNation’s Banfield Podcast final week. ”I feel I imagine the allegations have been that Mr. McMahon himself was generally seen kissing the Divas within the rooms and so forth and that when she rejected his advances, she met the destiny of many different wrestlers, which was that her profession was going to return to an finish, and that’s basically what occurred.”
McMahon has resigned from TKO, the WWE’s dad or mum firm. Each he and Laurinitis deny the allegations in Grant’s lawsuit.
“Any allegations that Mr. Laurinaitus helped to cowl up an alleged rape allegation is an outright lie,” his lawyer Edward Brennan stated. “Johnny, like most upper-level administration at a while grew to become conscious of the allegations and ensured all correct WWE protocols have been adopted, together with privateness for the alleged sufferer. We object to the usage of the time period cowl up as no such plan or plot ever came about to cover or help within the alleged rape.”
