Vince McMahon Knew Of Alleged Rape Of Ashley Massaro
Vince McMahon and WWE’s upper management were aware of allegations made by Ashley Massaro despite claims to the contrary.
TRIGGER WARNING: Article contains descriptions and discussion of sexual assault.
In a sworn affidavit released by her lawyer in 2019, Ashley Massaro alleged that she was raped by someone representing himself as a United States Army doctor during a WWE tour of Kuwait in 2006.
The former WWE star said she was injected with a drug that left her unable to scream or move, adding “The man then proceeded to violently rape and sodomize me.”
Massaro stated that WWE management including Vince McMahon and John Laurinaitis were made aware of the alleged incident, but she was told not to talk about it to preserve the company’s relationship with the military. WWE denied this was the case.
However, a new statement from John Laurinaitis’ lawyer has contradicted these denials. As reported by VICE News, Edward Brennan objected to suggestions that Laurinaitis had been involved in a cover-up but admitted that he was aware of the allegations made by Massaro.
“Any allegations that Mr. Laurinaitis helped to cover up an alleged rape allegation is an outright lie. Johnny, like most upper level management at sometime became aware of the allegations and ensured all proper WWE protocols were followed, including privacy for the alleged victim. We object to the use of the term cover up as no such plan or plot ever took place to hide or assist in the alleged rape.”
John Laurinaitis Claims He Was A Victim Of Vince McMahon
On January 25th a lawsuit was brought against Vince McMahon alleging sex trafficking and sexual assault. In the lawsuit, former WWE employee Janel Grant alleged that both McMahon and John Laurinaitis sexually assaulted her, and in another incident, McMahon instructed Grant to create explicit material for the veteran known as “Johnny Ace.”
There were several other allegations of a similar nature made in the suit.
In a statement made by Brennan on February 1st, he claimed that John Laurinaitis was a victim of Vince McMahon, much like Janel Grant.
Vince McMahon denies the allegations.