WWE is now facing multiple lawsuits alleging sexual abuse after a Maryland Supreme Court decision permitted the ‘ring boy’ lawsuit to resume.
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The pro wrestling juggernaut, along with long-time boss Vince McMahon and ex-wrestler turned head of talent relations John Laurinitis, were already being sued by former employee Janel Grant.
Grant alleges she was sexually assaulted and trafficked by McMahon, that Laurinitis participated and that WWE was negligent.
But earlier this week in a separate case, the Supreme Court in the state of Maryland ruled the Child Victims Act, which eliminated the statute of limitations on child sex abuse lawsuits, would be upheld after a conflict with a prior law which set a 20-year limit.
It means the lawsuit which saw five anonymous ex-ring boys sue Vince and Linda McMahon, along with WWE for negligence, alleging sexual abuse by former ring announcer and ring crew chief Mel Phillips can go ahead.
The lawsuit alleges the McMahons knew about and failed to stop years of sexual assault.
DiCello Levitt, the law firm representing the ex-ring boys, said additional ex-ring boys have since joined the suit.
It comes as Linda McMahon is soon scheduled to face the US Senate to be confirmed as President Donald Trump’s Secretary of Education.
Trump recently claimed he wants McMahon to “put herself out of a job” by eliminating the department of education entirely.
McMahon’s lawyer has said the lawsuit is “baseless” and “filled with scurrilous lies, exaggerations, and misrepresentations.”
The Janel Grant case also took a step forwards in recent days after an updated lawsuit with 34 additional pages was filed.
Grant’s allegations against McMahon included that he trafficked her to other WWE executives, defecated on her during a threesome, and sexually abused her with toys named after wrestlers.
When the lawsuit was first filed McMahon quit his role leading WWE. He and Laurinitis, who initially said he was a victim of McMahon as well, have denied the allegations.
In Grant’s updated lawsuit she alleges McMahon told her to create pornographic content for former wrestler turned WWE executive Michael Hayes
The lawsuit now names former WWE champion Brock Lesnar as the wrestler Grant alleges she was offered to sexually as part of his contract negotiations.
An alleged text from McMahon to Grant listed in the lawsuit reads: “U have to take a flight to Greenville South Carolina this Monday. Even if it’s just to C Brock.”
The lawsuit also now alleges McMahon viewed nude photos of Grant while being filmed for the Netflix documentary Mr McMahon.
McMahon’s lawyer Jessica Rosenberg told POST Wrestling: “As expected, the proposed amended complaint is nothing more than the latest publicity stunt in an ongoing smear campaign.
“It is filled with desperate falsehoods from a team that continues to disregard the law and the truth.”
Grant signed a nondisclosure agreement upon her exit from WWE in January 2022, with an alleged payment of $US3 million.
The agreement includes a clause which requires disputes to be settled through arbitration, rather than the courts, but that could be declared unenforceable if it was deemed signed under duress.
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