Nikki and Brie Garcia, the former wrestling tag team duo known as the Bella Twins, say they are “shocked” and “disheartened” by the sex trafficking claims against former WWE managers Vince McMahon and John Laurinaitis, the latter of whom is actually the stepfather of sisters.
The two men are named as defendants in a federal lawsuit filed by former WWE employee Janel Grant, who claims McMahon injured her during violent sexual encounters, traded her to other company executives including Laurinaitis, and once defecated on her during a threesome with a colleague. .
“We are shocked and disheartened by the recent allegations against members of the WWE,” the Garcia twins said in a joint statement, which failed to mention McMahon or Laurinaitis by name. “It’s been a lot to process since we found out this past week, as have all of you. This is something we stand for and do not condone from anyone no matter who they are.
‘We want all women to feel safe and supported in the workplace and in their daily lives.’
McMahon denied the allegations last week before stepping down as executive chairman at TKO, the conglomerate that owns the WWE and UFC. Laurinaitis, who married their mother Kathy in 2016 according to their Instagram profile, was fired in 2022 when his name surfaced in McMahon’s hush money scandal, in which the infamous wrestling promoter was accused of paying millions to former lovers.
Nikki and Brie Garcia are the former wrestling tag team duo known as the Bella Twins
Janel Grant (left) has accused former WWE executive Vince McMahon (right) of sex trafficking
John Laurinaitis (right) married Kathy Garcia, the mother of the Bella Twins, in 2016
Grant, who previously agreed to a $3 million settlement in exchange for signing a non-disclosure agreement in 2022, filed a federal lawsuit against McMahon, the WWE and Laurinaitis. In that filing, obtained by DailyMail.com, Grant claims McMahon stopped making payments after the first $1 million installment, and she is now seeking to have that agreement void.
Additionally, Grant claims she suffered bruising and bleeding after McMahon forcibly penetrated her with sex toys, which he named after his wrestlers. She also claims that in June 2021, McMahon and another WWE executive locked her in a room at WWE headquarters in Stamford, Connecticut, and took turns sexually assaulting her during the workday. The married McMahon is also accused of trafficking Grant to other men and sharing nude photos of the plaintiff.
Grant is seeking unspecified damages.
The Garcias released a statement without specifically naming McMahon or Laurinaitis
The lawsuit comes as McMahon is reducing his role within the company. In fact, he briefly left the WWE in 2022, when allegations of his infidelity first surfaced in a Wall Street Journal report.
And last week, former wrestler Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson was named to the board of directors of TKO, the umbrella company formed by the UFC-WWE merger. Meanwhile, another former wrestler, Triple H (aka Paul Levesque), has replaced McMahon as the WWE’s Chief Content Officer.
The WWE board learned of McMahon’s relationship with Grant through an anonymous tip in 2022 and launched an internal investigation, which subsequently uncovered $14.6 million in other alleged payments by the director to various women.
Grant’s filing alleges that McMahon ensnared her in a sexual relationship by promising to advance her career before ultimately exploiting her and selling her to other executives within the company.
In an alleged text message from 2020, McMahon is accused of sharing a photo of Grant with others and writing, “She might be yelling and trying to say NO!!, although it would be hard to say anything with an ac** * in her throat. ‘
Vince McMahon was shaved by businessman Donald Trump in April 2007
Another message McMahon allegedly sent to Grant a month earlier read: “I am the only one who owns U and decides who I want to fuck U with.”
WWE executive and retired wrestler John Laurinaitis is also named as a defendant in the lawsuit.
Grant claims McMahon instructed her to regularly visit Laurinaitis at a hotel, where the two had daily sexual encounters before reporting to the office.
“I left that hotel feeling bad about myself every time,” Grant claims she told McMahon.
McMahon’s co-defendant John Laurinaitis
John is the uncle of former NFL linebacker James Laurinaitis. His brothers Joe and Marcus also wrestled in the WWE.
In an alleged sexual encounter in May 2020, Grant claims McMahon defecated on her head during a threesome before ordering her to continue pleasuring his “friend.”
“When he returned from the bathroom, McMahon and his ‘friend’ actively resumed the threesome, which lasted over an hour and a half, while Ms. Grant remained covered in McMahon’s filth,” the filing continued. “When McMahon’s ‘friend’ left, McMahon ordered her to stay and continue to sexually satisfy him.”
McMahon is already under investigation by federal prosecutors over the alleged payments, and according to The Wall Street Journal, agents executed a search warrant for his phone and served him a grand jury subpoena in July 2023.
He has not been charged with any crime in this case.
“Throughout this experience, I have and continue to deny any intentional wrongdoing,” McMahon said in 2023 about the federal investigation. “I am confident that the government’s investigation will be concluded without finding any wrongdoing.”
The WWE logo shines from the WWE World Headquarters in Stamford, Connecticut on January 28
McMahon made a similar denial last week in response to Grant’s lawsuit.
“This lawsuit is full of lies, obscene fabrications that never happened, and a vindictive distortion of the truth,” a spokesperson for McMahon said. “He will defend himself vigorously.”
TKO, in turn, says it takes the accusations seriously.
‘Mr. McMahon has no control over TKO nor does he oversee the day-to-day operations of WWE,” TKO said in a statement. “While this matter predates our TKO management team’s tenure at the company, we are taking Ms. Grant’s horrific allegations very seriously and are discussing this matter internally.”
