The former WWE employee who alleged she was sexually assaulted and trafficked by Vince McMahon was grief-stricken over the passing of her parents and desperate for a job when she met the wrestling mogul at the luxury condo where they both lived, according to her lawsuit.
McMahon lived in the duplex penthouse at Park Tower Stamford — 36-story condo tower formerly known as Trump Parc Stamford in the southwestern Connecticut town where a two-bedroom apartment could fetch $1.2 million, according to real estate listing site Zillow.
Janel Grant, now 43, allegedly was introduced to McMahon in the spring of 2019 by the resident manager of the building, which is still managed by the Trump Organization although residents voted to scrub the former president’s name from it in 2021.
At the time, Grant was “dedicated…to finding gainful employment” after the passing of her parents, “whom she cared for full-time as their sole caretaker,” according to the lawsuit that was filed on Thursday in Connecticut federal court.
“On top of that, she was unemployed and her family home was lost in her parents’ bankruptcy,” according to the lawsuit.
According to the suit, Grant then sought the advice of her building’s resident manager, who suggested that McMahon might be in a position to help.
“Hell Yes!!” McMahon texted the resident manager when asked if he would be willing to talk to Grant about giving her a “fresh start.”
“This lawsuit is replete with lies, obscene made-up instances that never occurred, and a vindictive distortion of the truth,” a spokesman for McMahon said on Thursday. “He will vigorously defend himself.”
In March 2019, McMahon invited Grant to a meeting in his condo for what was ostensibly a job interview. She arrived to the meeting with copies of her resume as well as “thank you” cookies, the suit claims.
According to the lawsuit, McMahon shared details about his personal life, including the fact that Linda McMahon was his “ex” and “long gone” and that their marriage was “an arrangement on paper for business purposes.”
McMahon told Grant at the end of the meeting that he wasn’t just willing to offer her a job but to “give [her] a life” and that he “would find a place for her at WWE,” the lawsuit alleged.
Grant told McMahon that “she didn’t know how to thank him for ‘possibly just changing my life’ and that the mogul responded that a “thank you” isn’t enough and that “he’d accept a hug,” according to the lawsuit.
Her lawsuit comes after the Wall Street Journal reported last year that the WWE was investigating an alleged $3 million payment from McMahon to a departing female employee following a consensual affair.
Grant, who was unnamed at the time, claims in the new lawsuit she received an initial installment of $1 million but no further payments afterward.
Grant’s lawsuit includes graphic details about McMahon allegedly abusing her and trafficking her sexually.
After she was hired by WWE, McMahon defecated on her head during a threesome and ordered her to sleep with other executives at the company as well as a wrestling star.
Grant alleged in the complaint that McMahon sent her a text message in May 2020 which read: “I’m the only one who owns U and controls who I want to f— U.”
According to the lawsuit, McMahon’s use of sex toys on Grant caused her injuries such as bruising and bleeding, the Journal reported on Thursday.
McMahon is also alleged to have shared nude photos and explicit videos of Grant without her consent with other WWE employees, according to the lawsuit.
In 2021, the condo board voted to remove Donald Trump’s name from the building after the Jan. 6 rioting at the US Capitol by supporters of the former president who disputed the election victory of Joe Biden.
The building, which was managed by the Trump Organization and which paid the company to license the former president’s name,
Last year, Vince and Linda McMahon, who served in Trump’s cabinet as administrator of the small business administration, sold the duplex penthouse for $1.95 million — about half of their original asking price.
The couple bought the 3,351-square-foot pad that boasts three bedrooms and four bathrooms for $4.1 million in 2009 — which was $1 million above the appraised value that year, according to public records cited by the Stamford Advocate.
Condo residents who did not like to be associated with Trump given his administration’s policies as well as his inflammatory rhetoric voted to remove the name because the link depreciated the property values.
The lawsuit comes just months after WWE was acquired by Endeavor, the sports and entertainment company owned by super agent Ari Emanuel.
Endeavor and WWE together formed TKO Group, which brings the wrestling brand under the same corporate umbrella as UFC.
“Mr. McMahon does not control TKO nor does he oversee the day-to-day operations of WWE,” a TKO spokesperson told The Post on Thursday.
“While this matter pre-dates our TKO executive team’s tenure at the company, we take Ms. Grant’s horrific allegations very seriously and are addressing this matter internally.”
