WWE's former CEO, Vince McMahon, faces new a sexual assault charge and lawsuits.
A new report by the Wall Street Journal revealed private internal documents between McMahon's attorney, Jerry McDevitt, and the lawyer for two accusers. One private email was a demand letter from former WWE referee Rita Chatterton, who is suing the disgraced chairman for $11.75 million in damages after accusing him of rape during a limo ride in 1986. Additionally, the report reveals a new allegation from an unnamed ex-California spa manager who accused McMahon of sexually assaulting a client in 2011 at a five-star Southern California resort. The claims occur in the wake of the statute-of-limitations-modifying Adult Survivors Act, which was signed earlier this year by the governor of New York. Likewise, a similar law was recently passed in California.
The Chatterton allegations were first made public when she appeared on the talk shows Now It Can Be Told and The Geraldo Rivera Show in 1992. McMahon has since denied the claims and even attempted a lawsuit against Chatterton in 1993, alleging fake rape allegations and extortion from her lawyer at the time. Yet, it would be withdrawn by McMahon the following year. Regardless, former WWF performer Leonard Inzitari corroborated Chatterton's claims to New York Magazine despite not coming forward about it sooner due to fears of being blackballed in the wrestling business. "You just keep your mouth shut, because it’s Vince McMahon," Inzitari said. "What are you gonna do, stooge on Vince McMahon? You're gonna be blackballed from the wrestling business!"
In June, news of McMahon's conduct broke when the WSJ unearthed a secret $3 million hush payment between the former chairman and a female employee. Further investigating by the publication revealed that McMahon paid more than $12 million in secret settlements since 2006 and was paid personally by him instead of "booking them as WWE expenses." Following news of an internal investigation by WWE's board of directors, the 77-year-old McMahon announced his retirement.
WWE's New Leadership
In the months since the scandal broke, McMahon's daughter Stephanie McMahon along with former WWE president Nick Khan took over the company as co-chief executives. The elder McMahon would remain WWE's largest shareholder, despite having no say in the actual programming. Additionally, former WWE wrestler and COO Paul Levesque, better known to wrestling fans as Triple H, took over as WWE's Chief Content Officer. WWE has since declined to comment on the former chairman's accusations.
Aside from losing power over his beloved wrestling company, McMahon's public image has taken further hits outside the ring. Netflix canceled a Vince McMahon documentary while it was deep into post-production, and Vice TV is releasing a separate (potentially critical) documentary called The Nine Lives of Vince McMahon, which is set to premiere tonight at 8 p.m.
Despite the new wave of legal troubles, the WSJ revealed McMahon's intention to return to power in WWE, still under the belief that the allegations from this past summer have subsided.
Source: WSJ