Backstage Reaction To New $12 Million Vince McMahon Allegations

WWE

We now have more information on the backstage reaction to the new $12 million allegations against Vince McMahon that were released today.

A new report from the Wall Street Journal has indicated that Vince McMahon has paid over $12 million in “hush money” over the past 16 years to “suppress allegations of sexual misconduct and infidelity”, including a $7.5 million payment to a former WWE wrestler. Click here to see the full report.

Per Fightful Select (subscription required), McMahon’s behavior was heavily rumored among the writing team, though Fightful wasn’t told if elements of coercion and NDAs were well known. A former writer said that McMahon’s relationships would be a half-joking excuse as to why he’d be late to meetings before TV.

Everyone that Fightful spoke to continues to believe that John Laurinaitis is ‘done’ in the company, but they believe he has a ‘golden parachute’ deal with the company that will likely take care of him. Female talent spoke to Fightful last year following his promotion back to talent relations, expressing their frustration. One WWE higher up told Fightful that ‘Johnny Ace’s ninth life is about to be lost.’

Around the time of the first Wall Street Journal story, WWE talent and staff were briefed via memo about the story and investigation. Fightful has not been told of any memo reflecting today’s story. WWE talent have not been available to speak on the record about the allegations and reports, but have spoken with Fightful privately, expressing their displeasure and extreme frustration with how Vince McMahon has handled the situation.

All further updates and follow-ups on this story can be found at this link.

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