Former Writer Sues WWE & Vince McMahon, Claims Discrimination, Retaliation

Former WWE writer Britney Abrahams is suing the organization. Abrahams has filed a lawsuit in the US District Court for the Eastern District of New York claiming that Vince McMahon, Stephanie McMahon, and other company employees discriminated and retaliated against her for raising concerns about "offensively racist and stereotypical jargon" used in the promotion's scripts. 

According to the complaint that was filed earlier this week, Abrahams protested against racial and gender stereotypes that were written into WWE's shows. Abrahams objected to a fellow writer pitching Bianca Belair to say, "Uh-Uh! Don't make me take off my earrings and beat your ass!" The former WWE writer also disagreed with the company having Apollo Crews speak with an exaggerated Nigerian accent. Abrahams claims that she was subjected to "a number of racist pitches" after voicing her concerns. 

In a Slack thread that included Vince and his daughter Stephanie, WWE writers allegedly proposed having Reggie – currently Scrypts on "WWE NXT" – dress up in drag on television. However, the idea was only dropped when another writer pointed out that the act could "perpetuate harmful stereotypes that would offend viewers." A WWE writer also supposedly put forward a pitch that involved Mansoor – now mån.sôör - carrying a secret of being behind the 9/11 attacks. 

Abrahams, who began working for WWE in 2020, continued to disapprove of racist and sexist pitches until she was dismissed in April 2022. Abrahams noted that she was fired after taking a WrestleMania commemorative chair, which Caucasian male writers were apparently not punished for and was an accepted practice in the company. The civil action put forward by Abrahams is for monetary damages, unlawful employment practices, discriminatory treatment, harassment, a hostile work environment, wrongful termination, and unlawful retaliation due to race, color, and gender.