Vince McMahon under investigation following alleged affair settlement and cover-up with ex-WWE employee
Things are about to become a lot more complicated for WWE owner Vince McMahon.
The 76-year-old billionaire, who has built and run the WWE empire over several decades, is now under investigation over a secret three-million-dollar settlement that McMahon agreed to pay to a to a former employee who he allegedly had an affair with.
According to the Wall Street Journal, the WWE board is investigating a separation agreement that was signed in January of 2022. The settlement kept the former employee - who was reportedly hired as a paralegal in 2019 - from "discussing her relationship with Mr. McMahon or disparaging him."
During this investigation, the WWE board also uncovered other nondisclosure agreements that involve claims of misconduct towards both Mr. McMahon and WWE Head of Talent Relations John Laurinaitis.
WWE’s board is investigating a secret $3 million settlement that longtime CEO Vince McMahon reached with a former employee with whom he allegedly had an affair, according to documents and people familiar on.wsj.com/3QokMry
WWE says it's cooperating with the Vince McMahon investigation
A WWE spokesman told the Wall Street Journal that the company is "cooperating fully" with the situation and that "the relationship with the ex-paralegal was consensual."
The spokesman also stated that WWE takes these allegations seriously and will be dealing with them appropriately.
Neither Mr. McMahon nor Laurinaitis responded to Wall Street Journal's requests for comment.
The @WWE board is investigating a secret $3 million hush pact that longtime CEO Vince McMahon reached with an ex-employee with whom he allegedly had an affair, and whose salary doubled after the sexual relationship began wsj.com/articles/wwe-b… via @joe_palazzolo + Ted Mann
This news is shocking and could rock the WWE corporate empire in the weeks to come.