Vince McMahon steps down from board of WWE parent company after sexual misconduct accusation

Former World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) CEO Vince McMahonstepped down from the post of executive chairman of the WWE's parent company TKO on Friday (Jan 26). This comes after a former WWE employee, Janel Grant, accused McMahon of sexual misconduct in a federal lawsuit. McMahon, 78, said that he's stepping down from the position 'out of respect' and has denied any wrongdoing. The news of him stepping down was first reported by media outlet Deadline.

“I stand by my prior statement that Ms. Grant’s lawsuit is replete with lies, obscene made-up instances that never occurred, and is a vindictive distortion of the truth,” he said in a statement.

"I intend to vigorously defend myself against these baseless accusations, and look forward to clearing my name." he further said.

WWE merged with the Ultimate Fighting Championship in April 2023 to create a $21.4 billion sports entertainment entity TKO Group Holdings. McMahon served as the executive chairman of the new entity's board till he stepped down.

Taking cognizance of the matter, TKO group also issued a statement earlier this week and said: “Mr. McMahon does not control TKO nor does he oversee the day-to-day operations of WWE. While this matter pre-dates our TKO executive team’s tenure at the company, we take Ms. Grant’s horrific allegations very seriously and are addressing this matter internally.”

As per the lawsuit, McMahon and Grant lived in the same building and the former offered a job to Grant in WWE after her parents died in 2019. Grant is seeking unspecified monetary damages in the lawsuit.

“Ms. Grant hopes that her lawsuit will prevent other women from being victimized,” her attorney, Ann Callis, said in a statement. “The organization is well aware of Mr. McMahon’s history of depraved behavior, and it’s time that they take responsibility for the misconduct of its leadership," Callis further said.