A former WWE writer is suing WWE and Vince McMahon.
According to court records, former WWE writer Britney Abrahams filed a civil suit in the US District Court for the Eastern District of New York on April 24. She is suing WWE and its staff for “discriminatory treatment, harassment, hostile work environment, wrongful termination, unlawful retaliation against the Plaintiff due to her race, color, and gender.”
Vince McMahon, Stephanie McMahon, SVP of Creative Writing Relations Christine Lubrana, and writers Jen Pepperman, Chris Dunn, Ryan Callahan, and Mike Heller are named as defendants in the suit, alongside WWE as a whole.
The lawsuit alleges that “Defendants repeatedly subjected Plaintiff to unlawful discrimination and a hostile work environment, … unlawful retaliation for complaining of Defendants’ unlawful employment practices, including her complaints of racial harassment and discrimination, and other wrongdoing.” (H/t Brandon Thurston of Wrestlenomics)
In the filing, it was stated that Abrahams started writing for WWE RAW and WWE SmackDown in 2020. Abrahams described multiple examples of WWE talent portraying racist stereotypes, which she claims to have complained about during her time with the company. One incident stemmed from “Uh-Uh, don’t make me take off my earrings and beat your ass” being written for Bianca Belair, who made it clear she didn’t want to say the line, and Abrahams expressing that it featured “cruel, ugly stereotypes of dark-skinned, black women.”
Another example highlights a storyline pitch by Callahan that would have seen Mansoor, a Saudi Arabia native, revealing that he was behind the 9/11 attacks. Further evidence came from a pitch to have Reggie (now known as Scrypts) dress in drag, Apollo Crews’ Nigerian royalty character, and an unused idea where Shane Thorne would have hunted people and put Reggie in a cage.
Additionally, Abrahams claims she continued to object to pitches that she viewed as racist and/or sexist. She alleges that her firing for taking a commemorative WrestleMania 38 chair was unfair, as many writers did the same thing. Per Bloomberg, in the suit, Abrahams seeks “reinstatement, damages, and declaratory judgment, and an injunction restraining defendants from engaging in such unlawful conduct.”
Vince McMahon retired in July 2022 amid a WWE board investigation into allegations of sexual misconduct and hush money. He returned to WWE in January 2023 and was subsequently voted the Executive Chairman of the Board. On April 3, WWE entered into an agreement with Endeavor that will see the company merge with UFC.
WrestleZone will provide more information as it becomes available.
