Vince McMahon Reportedly Paid $12 Million in “Hush Money” to Four Women Over His Sexual Misconduct

As noted before, Vince McMahon recently temporarily stepped down as CEO and Chairman of WWE until the conclusion of the company’s investigation into McMahon’s alleged misconduct towards several former female employees. These allegations include McMahon paying secret settlements which has led to multiple law firms also currently investigating WWE over them keeping their investigation a secret from investors until it was publicly revealed by the Wall Street Journal.

The Wall Street Journal reported that their sources stated that the amount McMahon paid in “hush money” towards four women was much higher than previously known. It was reported that McMahon had paid over $12 million over the past sixteen years to “suppress allegations of sexual misconduct and infidelity” against him.

All four women given settlement payments reportedly were all formerly affiliated with WWE. The largest payment reportedly went to a former WWE wrestler who claimed that McMahon had “coerced her into giving him oral sex and then demoted her and, ultimately, declined to renew her contract in 2005 after she resisted further sexual encounters, according to people familiar with the matter.” This unnamed wrestler and her attorney reportedly approached McMahon in 2018 and negotiated a hush payment of around $7.5 million “in return for her silence.”

Besides the former paralegal female employee who was given around $3 million, the other two unnamed women reportedly were paid around $1 million each by McMahon.

One of the two unnamed women reportedly was a former WWE contractor who had presented the company with unsolicited nude photos of McMahon she received from him and also claimed that he had sexually harassed her on the job. It was reported that those spoken to stated that McMahon and this woman had agreed to a nondisclosure agreement in 2008 over these issues.

The other woman reportedly was a former WWE manager who had worked with McMahon for ten years before he allegedly initiated a secret sexual relationship with her. It was reported that those spoken to stated that McMahon and this woman had agreed to a nondisclosure agreement in 2006 over these issues.

It was also reported that former WWE Head of Talent Relations John Laurinaitis had paid around $1.5 million in hush money to another former WWE female employee in 2012. It was reported that “Mr. Laurinaitis, a former wrestler known as Johnny Ace, had been head of WWE talent relations for eight years when he was forced to step down in 2012 and take a smaller role at the company. His demotion came around the same time as the $1.5 million deal with the employee, who alleged she had an affair with Mr. Laurinaitis and that he demoted her after she broke it off, people familiar with the nondisclosure agreement said.”

Following the release of the Wall Street Journal’s report, PWInsider’s Mike Johnson reported that his sources stated that WWE issued a new internal memo to staff and talent over the new details revealed regarding McMahon’s misconduct allegations and secret settlement payments.

The Wall Street Journal has published a second story with expanded details on its initial WWE report last month. We want to reiterate that we and our Board of Directors take these allegations seriously.

We’ve been cooperating fully with the investigation led by our Board of Directors and will continue to do so until its conclusion. Please note that upon its conclusion, WWE leadership will make itself available to answer any questions you may have.

Thank you.