John Laurinaitis claims that Vince McMahon has also victimized him.
Last week, Vince McMahon, John Laurinaitis and WWE were named as defendants in a lawsuit by Janel Grant, a former WWE employee who claims she was sexually assaulted and trafficked by McMahon. Laurinaitis is a co-defendant in the suit, but he (through his lawyer) claims to be a victim of McMahon as well.
VICE News received a statement from Edward Brennan, the lawyer acting on behalf of Laurinaitis. VICE noted that Brennan “appeared to corroborate central claims in the suit.” He also disputed Laurinaitis’ role as outlined in the lawsuit.
According to Brennan, Laurinaitis is a victim in this story, too.
“Mr. Laurinaitis denies the allegations in the misguided complaint and will be vigorously defending these charges in Court, not the media. Like the Plaintiff, Mr. Laurinaitis is a victim in this case, not a predator. The truth will come out,” Brennan wrote.
“The truth will come out,” Brennan added.
VICE asked Brennan a follow-up question about McMahon and Laurinaitis’ respective roles in the complaint. VICE asked Brennan to clarify that they were saying Laurinaitis was a victim of McMahon’s, just like Grant was.
“Read the allegations. Read the Federal Statute. Power, control, employment supervisory capacity, dictatorial sexual demands with repercussions if not met. Count how many times in the complaint Vince exerts control over both of them,” Brennan replied.
The complaint (read in full here) accused McMahon and Laurinaitis of sexually assaulting her in WWE’s corporate offices in Stamford, Connecticut. The suit also accused McMahon of trafficking Grant to Laurinaitis and setting up appointments for him to have sex with Grant.
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