Topline
Vince McMahon stepped down as chairman and CEO of World Wrestling Entertainment Friday morning, amid an ongoing investigation into an alleged affair with a former company paralegal.
NEW YORK – MARCH 28: WWE chairman Vince McMahon speaks at the press conference held by Battle of … [+]
Key Facts
A report released Wednesday from the Wall Street Journal says the 76-year-old McMahon was allegedly involved in an affair with a 41-year-old paralegal he hired in 2019, who received a $3 million payout in January, barring her from “discussing her relationship” or “disparaging” McMahon.
A WWE special committee appointed McMahon’s daughter, Stephanie McMahon, as interim CEO and chairwoman Friday morning, while independent counsel Simpson, Thatcher & Bartlett LLP conducts the investigation with the WWE board.
Emails obtained by the Wall Street Journal allege McMahon hired the paralegal at a salary of $100,000, gave her a $100,000 raise as soon as their relationship began, and “gave her like a toy” to company head of talent relations John Laurinaitis.
McMahon will remain on the company’s creative team while the 12-member board – which includes Stephanie McMahon and her husband Paul Levesque, better known as the wrestler Triple H – investigates the allegations.
Vince McMahon’s personal attorney Jerry McDevitt, of the Pittsburgh-based law firm K&L Gates, did not respond to an inquiry for comment from Forbes.
Crucial Quote
In a statement released Friday from the WWE, McMahon said he pledged his “complete cooperation to the investigation by the Special Committee,” and “will do everything possible to support the investigation,” adding he will “accept the findings and outcome of the investigation, whatever they are.”
Big Number
$1.095 billion. That’s how much revenue the WWE made in 2021, setting a company record, in the midst of a battle for viewership with All Elite Wrestling, a company that launched in 2019 and has since landed a four-year, $175 million television deal with WarnerMedia and TNT.
Key Background
McMahon took over the WWE from his father, also named Vince McMahon, in 1982. Under his tenure, WWE has become the face of professional wrestling, outperforming competitors World Championship Wrestling, which the WWE bought in 2000, and Extreme Championship Wrestling, which it bought in 2003. McMahon has a net worth of $2.3 billion, according to Forbes’ real-time tracker. His tenure has also come under scrutiny for sexist and racist storylines, including “bra and panty matches” throughout the early 2000s, as well as a 1998 instance of wrestlers performing in blackface. In 2015, McMahon responded to complaints, tweeting, “We hear you. Keep Watching.”
Further Reading
WWE’s Vince McMahon Steps Down as CEO Amid Misconduct Probe (Wall Street Journal)
Vince McMahon Investigation: WWE’s Probe Of Alleged Affair Threatens Chairman’s Throne (Forbes)
WWE Reportedly Burying Stephanie McMahon To The Press (Forbes)
Source: https://www.forbes.com/sites/brianbushard/2022/06/17/vince-mcmahon-steps-down-as-wwe-ceo-amid-3-million-hush-pact-investigation/