John Laurinaitis Joins Vince McMahon Arbitration Effort, Denies Janel Grant Accusations

By Ross W Berman IV
John Laurinaitis scowling WWE/Peacock

Recently, attorneys representing Vince McMahon motioned to have former assistant Janel Grant's lawsuit against him, John Laurinaitis, WWE, and numerous unnamed corporate officers for sex trafficking, abuse, and harassment, brought to private arbitration, as per the stipulations of the disputed Non-Disclosure Agreement (NDA) between McMahon and Grant.

According to Wrestlenomics's Brandon Thurston, former WWE Head of Talent Relations John Laurinaitis, who was also named in Grant's suit, has joined McMahon's motion to move the case into private arbitration, which would keep any further developments and discoveries out of the public record.

"John Laurinaitis has filed a Motion today fully joining in and adopting Vince McMahon's motion to compel arbitration," Edward Brennan, attorney for Laurinaitis, wrote in a statement. "Mr. Laurinaitis corroborates Mr. McMahon in publicly declaring that Ms. Grant's allegations of sexual abuse and coercion in her Complaint are completely unfounded. My client will fight these false allegations together with Mr. McMahon in the proper forum, arbitration."

The motion is a pivot from Laurinaitis's initial position, as his attorneys' original stance was "Like the plaintiff, Mr. Laurinaitis is a victim in this case, not a predator," which seemingly corroborated some of Grant's accusations, albeit while still denying Grant's accusations against Laurinaitis himself. 

Attorneys for McMahon responded to Laurinaitis's motion, writing "In January 2024, Ms. Grant, a 43-year-old with a law degree, who was in love with Mr. McMahon and devastated by their break-up, filed an outrageous and false lawsuit to ruin Mr. McMahon's career and reputation. Now, her false allegations are slowly unraveling. Today, Mr. Laurinaitis' attorney confirmed his client will corroborate Mr. McMahon's account and expose the lies within the Complaint. Despite their intense efforts, Ms. Grant's attorneys won't be able to suppress the truth from coming out."

McMahon resigned from his responsibilities at WWE and TKO Group Holdings in January of this year, as a result of the lawsuit. Federal investigators are also looking into the sex trafficking accusations against McMahon. McMahon recently sold off nearly $300 million worth of his stock in TKO and its parent company Endeavor. He now currently owns less than 5% of TKO Group Holdings, which he helped found in 2023.

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