Rolling Stone Article Details How Vince McMahon Ruled Writers Room With Fear

The article claimed Vince McMahon ruled by fear and intimidation according to six fomer WWE writers.

Vince McMahon / WWE.com

An explosive new article by Rolling Stone is making new claims about the Vince McMahon era of WWE and the inner workings of his writers rooms.

Six former WWE writers described in detail the “hostile environment” that existed within the writers room between 2016 and 2022. According to the piece, five of the former writers “asked to remain anonymous out of a fear of retribution from the WWE, their former colleagues, and rabid wrestling fans.”

The article details a fear and intimidation-based environment within the writers room that Mr. McMahon ruled with an iron fist. The former writers claimed that the verbal abuse was not limited to the writers room, and that this was the prevailing culture through its corporate headquarters.

Muhammad Hassan / WWE.com

The piece, written by Krystie Lee Yandoli, details several instances of writers objecting to racist, xenophobic, and offensive storylines involving talents like Muhammad Hassan, R-Truth, Titus O’Neil, and Mark Henry.  It also details the lawsuit brought against the company by Britney Abrahams that claims she was fired after objecting to racism in the writers room.

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The former writers also expressed doubt that the company’s culture would change under the leadership of the Chief Content Office, Paul “Triple H” Levesque. One writer was quoted as stating; “There are a lot of people complicit in continuing this culture. I am highly doubtful it’s changed, even with Triple H in charge. I just don’t think it really can.”

Vince McMahon was the former CEO and Executive Chairman of TKO Group Holdings, the company created after the 2023 merger of WWE and UFC. Mr. McMahon resigned from the company in January 2024 after a lawsuit filed by Janel Grant. Ms. Grant, who worked for WWE between 2019 and 2022, filed her lawsuit against Mr. McMahon, John Laurinaitis, and WWE on January 25th.

Mr. McMahon has denied all allegations. Mr. Laurinaitis, through counsel, has denied all wrongdoing and stated he was also a victim.

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