Vince McMahon resigns from WWE after allegations of sexual assault

Embattled wrestling mogul Vince McMahon resigned Friday from the WWE, the company he founded six decades ago, following allegations of sexual assault made public in a lawsuit a day earlier.

The announcement was made Friday evening in a message to staff by Nick Khan, president of the WWE and a member of the board of directors for TKO, the global conglomerate that owns the wrestling giant.

"Vince McMahon has tendered his resignation from his positions as TKO Executive Chairman and on the TKO Board of Directors," Kahn wrote in the message provided to CBS News. "He will no longer have a role with TKO Group Holdings or WWE."

In a federal lawsuit filed Thursday in Connecticut, a former employee, Janel Grant, accused the 78-year-old McMahon and another WWE employee of sexually assaulting her in the workplace.

The lawsuit also accused McMahon of sexual trafficking, alleging that he pressured Grant into having sex with him and another WWE employee in exchange for her job. In 2020, according to the lawsuit, McMahon allegedly pressured Grant into threesomes with other men, including McMahon's physical therapist and another WWE executive, John Laurinaitis, who is also named as a defendant in the lawsuit. 

In a statement provided to CBS News on Friday following his resignation, McMahon said that "Grant's lawsuit is replete with lies, obscene made-up instances that never occurred, and is a vindictive distortion of the truth. I intend to vigorously defend myself against these baseless accusations, and look forward to clearing my name.

"However, out of respect for the WWE Universe, the extraordinary TKO business and its board members and shareholders, partners and constituents, and all of the employees and Superstars who helped make WWE into the global leader it is today, I have decided to resign from my executive chairmanship and the TKO board of directors, effective immediately."

Thursday's lawsuit was the latest in a series of misconduct allegations against McMahon.

In 2022, McMahon stepped back as CEO of WWE while the company investigated him for alleged misconduct, with the probe centered on claims that he paid hush money to a worker with whom he allegedly had an affair. A 2022 report in the Wall Street Journal said that McMahon had agreed to pay more than $12 million to four women.

In:
• WWE
• TKO Group Holdings
• Wrestling
• Sexual Assault
• Vince McMahon

Faris Tanyos

Faris Tanyos is a news editor for CBSNews.com, where he writes and edits stories and tracks breaking news. He previously worked as a digital news producer at several local news stations up and down the West Coast.