Kriti Mehrotra
The past couple of years have honestly been a little shocking to wrestling fans all across the globe because WWE’s biggest heel, its CEO and chairman Vince McMahon, retired for good. However, as explored in Netflix’s ‘Mr. McMahon,’ this only came following claims of him paying hush money over affairs with former employees as well as allegations of him being a sexual predator. Amongst those to not only accuse him of the latter but actually also take him to court for it is Janel Grant, who reportedly worked under him at Headquarters for just under three years.
Janel Grant Came Across Vince McMahon By Pure Chance
Although not much regarding Janel’s early years or upbringing is publicly available as of writing, we do know she’s a New Haven, Connecticut, native who completed her education in Danbury. However, according to reports, she subsequently devoted all her time to caring for both her elderly parents full time, that is, until they unfortunately passed away around the late 2010s. She was thus in a vulnerable state when she first came across WWE executive Vince McMahon in March 2019 — it was truly a chance encounter as they resided in the same apartment building.
As per official documents, Janel and Vince gradually established a friendship, only for him to then offer her a job at his world-renowned organization as a “legal administrator-coordinator.” The precise duties her professional role comprised were allegedly never defined to her beyond a summary, yet she was promised a starting salary of $75,000 despite her lack of experience. She had no idea her world would soon turn upside down — according to her claims, she joined WWE in June 2019, shortly following which her boss began abusing as well as exploiting her.
Janel Grant Has Detailed Her Ordeal in a Civil Lawsuit Against Vince
On January 25, 2024, Janel filed a civil lawsuit for an unspecified amount, wherein she asserted that while she parted ways with WWE in 2022, she endured a lot of trauma there at the hands of Vince. According to her, he coerced her into sexual acts with not only himself but also with other WWE employees and performers. She has also claimed he shared explicit images of her with others without her consent and then boasted about it to her over text messages. All this reportedly often occurred at the WWE headquarters, yet no one stopped it because it had become a part of their culture, per the show.
As if all this wasn’t enough, Janel has even alleged that Vince’s behavior towards her grew increasingly depraved, humiliating, and violent as time passed, which hurt her both mentally as well as emotionally. She claimed she was forced to do degrading things in front of not just him but also several other executives and performers, only for them to treat her as if she wasn’t even in the room. In other words, she believes she was mentally, physically, and sexually taken advantage of in the worst of ways, and she wants some justice to be served not only for herself but also for other possible victims like her.
Arguably the worst aspect of all this, though, is Janel’s indication that she was also forced to undergo a medical treatment for no good reason other than the fact Vince wanted her to. As per the legal documents, she was asked by Vince to visit Dr. Carlon Colker at Peak Wellness Clinic starting in November 2019, only for an employee there to also be involved in instances of sexual abuse. Furthermore, she claims she was subject to some undisclosed treatments, which included taking some pills and IV infusions under Vince’s orders until she finally got the courage to leave the organization in March 2022.
Janel Grant is Fighting For Justice While Keeping a Low Profile
Because of the sensitive nature of Janel’s accusations against arguably one of the biggest names in WWE history, she has understandably chosen to stay well away from the limelight these days. However, this Stamford, Connecticut resident is still continuing her fight for what she believes to be justice with the help of her lawyers, who have since also made it clear that she is doing so to reclaim her life and help others like her to do so too. Although a judge issued a 6-month stay on her lawsuit in June 2024, owing to the ongoing federal investigation into the allegations against Vince, she has no choice but to play the waiting game at the moment.
That’s not to say Janel and her team have remained idle, though; in July 2024, they filed a pre-action discovery petition against Dr. Carlon Colker and Peak Wellness to get all her medical records. Vince’s representatives have argued that this violates the stay order, yet it is a separate filing, so it was allowed to go on. “[Janel] wants her life back, she wants ownership of her story,” one of her lawyers recently revealed in a statement. “She wants to help other victims… What happened to her, and what was alleged, left her physically and mentally absolutely destroyed. She is trying to recover and she believes this is the first step.”
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