Vince McMahon is out as Chairman of TKO Holdings amid sex trafficking allegations.
Vince McMahon is out as TKO Executive Chairman due to horrifying sexual misconduct allegations.
In light of former WWE employee Janel Grant’s sex trafficking lawsuit against McMahon—a 67-page document that reads like a romantic horror novel—McMahon has stepped down as Executive Chairman of TKO Holdings.
“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,” said Nick Khan in a public statement. “He will no longer have a role with TKO Group Holdings or WWE.”
The writing was once again on the wall with McMahon once again facing troubling allegations of sex trafficking, allegations that also implicated former WWE executive John Laurinaitis among others. McMahon released a statement through a spokesperson, denying these allegations:
“This lawsuit is replete with lies, obscene made-up instances that never occurred, and a vindictive distortion of the truth. He will vigorously defend himself.”
Still, McMahon’s statement was not enough to keep longtime sponsor Slim Jim from pausing its relationship with WWE. Amid McMahon’s explosive lawsuit, Slim Jim released the following statement:
“Slim Jim values integrity and respect in all of our partnerships,” said the brand in a public statement. “Given the recent disturbing allegations against Vince McMahon, at this time we’ve decided to pause our promotional activities with WWE. This decision reflects our commitment to our brand values and responsibility to our community.”
Things continue to go from bad to worse for Vince McMahon. McMahon surprisingly resigned from WWE in July of 2022 amid similar allegations, only to force his way back into the company, sell WWE and become Executive Chairman of TKO Holdings. McMahon would later put a significant share of his ownership up for sale in November 2023, selling 8.4 million of Class A Stock (roughly 30% of his stake in the company.) In a November filing, McMahon was also listed by TKO as a possible liability with the Securities & Exchange Commission.
McMahon was recently featured in a Vice TV documentary called The Nine Lives of Vince McMahon. Living up to the title of the documentary, McMahon returned to the promotion shortly after it aired. Netflix
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Ousting Vince McMahon will not be enough to change the apparent toxic culture in WWE. Moving forward, The Rock and Triple H will be two of WWE’s most prominent public faces as the promotion looks to change its culture from the top down.
