After former WWE employee Janel Grant filed a sex trafficking lawsuit against Vince McMahon, John Laurinaitis, and WWE in January, it didn’t seem like McMahon and Laurinaitis were on the same page when it came to their defense from Grant’s allegations.
At the time, Edward Brennan, the lawyer for Laurinaitis, issued a statement declaring that his client “is a victim in this case, not a predator.” The full statement went on about McMahon exerting control over both Grant and Laurinaitis in the lawsuit, which suggested Johnny might corroborate at least some of the allegations made in the lawsuit. That could be a huge problem for McMahon’s defense of outright denying Grant’s allegations.
After McMahon’s side recently filed a motion to request the case be handled in private arbitration hearings rather than litigating it in court publicly, it was Laurinaitis’ turn to formally respond to the lawsuit today. His lawyer Brennan issued the following statement asserting that Grant’s allegations are “completely unfounded” and he will fight them together with McMahon.
“John Laurinaitis has filed a Motion today fully joining in and adopting Vince McMahon’s motion to compel arbitration. Mr. Laurinaitis corroborates Mr. McMahon in publicly declaring that Ms. Grant’s allegations of sexual abuse and coercion in her Complaint are completely unfounded. My client will fight these false allegations together with Mr. McMahon in the proper forum, arbitration.”
Wrestling fans who best know of Johnny Ace as one of Vince’s “douchebag yes men” from CM Punk’s famous pipe bomb promo won’t be surprised by the above statement.
McMahon’s lawyer Jessica Taub Rosenberg then released a follow-up statement:
“In January 2024, Ms. Grant, a 43-year-old with a law degree, who was in love with Mr. McMahon and devastated by their break-up, filed an outrageous and false lawsuit to ruin Mr. McMahon’s career and reputation. Now, her false allegations are slowly unraveling. Today, Mr. Laurinaitis’ attorney confirmed his client will corroborate Mr. McMahon’s account and expose the lies within the Complaint. Despite their intense efforts, Ms. Grant’s attorneys won’t be able to suppress the truth from coming out.”
Based on these statements, it’s clear that McMahon and Laurinaitis are now completely on the same page when it comes to fighting this lawsuit. WWE will have to issue a formal response to the lawsuit soon as well.
What’s your reaction to this latest legal development, Cagesiders?
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