Vince McMahon and World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) have been accused of knowing and allowing sexual exploitation of young boys.
Five individuals, referred to as “John Does 1-5,” have filed a lawsuit against McMahon, his wife, the WWE, and its parent company, TKO Holdings, allegedly allowed “open, rampant abuse” of “ring boys” in the 1980s and 1990s at the hands of former ring crew chief Melvin Phillips, Jr. Some of them were as young as 12 years old. Phillips passed away in 2012.
The WWE’s ring boy scandal first became public in 1992, leading to the firing of Phillips and Terry Garvin, who’s also mentioned in the suit as an abuser. However, the current lawsuit explains that the survivors only recently learned about the extent of the McMahons’ and WWE’s knowledge regarding the abuse—and how they allegedly covered it up.
Keep in mind that McMahon has been accused of being a sexual predator in the past. In fact, he allegedly paid $12 million in hush money to keep four women quiet about his alleged sexual harassment against him.
Jessica Rosenberg, Vince McMahon’s attorney, provided a statement to NBC News about these claims.
“More than 30 years ago, the columnist Phil Mushnick tried to make headlines with these same false claims,” she said. “Those allegations were never proven and ultimately became the subject of a defamation lawsuit against Mr. Mushnick.”
“The negligence claims against Mr. McMahon that were asserted today rely on these same absurd, defamatory, and utterly meritless statements by Mr. Mushnick,” the attorney continued. “We will vigorously defend Mr. McMahon and are confident the court will find that these claims are untrue and unfounded.”
The lawyers who filed the lawsuit against WWE and the McMahons insisted that “the underaged Ring Boys were groomed, exploited, and sexually abused by Phillips, who targeted children from broken homes.”
Allegedly, some of these victims were “lured and manipulated”—promised they’d meet wrestling stars—as well as sexually assaulted by Phillips at wrestling events and other venues like hotels and dressing rooms.
All the while, McMahon and the WWE were allegedly aware of the abuse and did nothing to intervene.
According to Greg Gutzler, a lawyer for the plaintiffs, “Thanks to the bravery of our clients, we finally have a chance to hold accountable those who allowed and enabled the open, rampant sexual abuse of these young boys.”
The post Vince McMahon Faces Bombshell Lawsuit Over Systematic Sexual Abuse of WWE ‘Ring Boys’ appeared first on VICE.
The post Vince McMahon Faces Bombshell Lawsuit Over Systematic Sexual Abuse of WWE ‘Ring Boys’ appeared first on VICE.
