Janel Grant, the plaintiff in a federal civil lawsuit against Vince McMahon, WWE, and TKO, spoke publicly Thursday at a Connecticut state capitol briefing, disclosing for only the second time that federal authorities classified her case as a covert human trafficking investigation and that she attempted suicide following the silencing effects of a non-disclosure agreement.
The approximately 16-minute address was delivered at the Connecticut Alliance to End Sexual Violence's Legislative Office Building event in Hartford, where advocates, survivors, and state lawmakers gathered to call for NDA reform and codification of federal Prison Rape Elimination Act (PREA) standards into state law.
"By a Series of Miracles, I'm Alive Today"
Grant opened by stating, "By a series of miracles that I can't account for, I'm alive today."
She described the moment on June 15, 2022, when the Wall Street Journal published a story about her, McMahon, and an NDA — while she was at a new job in front of new employers.
Under the terms of her NDA, she said she could not acknowledge the story, could not tell people she wasn't okay, and could not speak to anyone who had known her.
It was like somebody set fire to my home intentionally with me still inside of it," Grant said.
She disclosed that the resulting isolation and enforced silence led to a suicide attempt. "I blacked out and I ended up in a closet with a belt and a stool placed under a little rod," she said. "Thank God somebody saw me and stopped it." She framed the attempt not as a consequence of the abuse alone, but specifically as "the life wreck and the mental health impact of this particular NDA."
"A Covert Investigation Into Human Trafficking"
Grant made several significant legal disclosures during the briefing.
She revealed that after federal investigators reviewed her evidence — including communications involving WWE personnel — the FBI elevated the matter to a covert criminal investigation.
The feds informed us that this was now a covert investigation into human trafficking and the criminal misconduct of WWE, Vince McMahon, and this NDA," she said.
Grant said the DOJ asked her to remain silent and keep the investigation covert — a directive she cited as the reason her January 2024 federal civil lawsuit was framed outside of employment law. All defendants in Grant's lawsuit have denied all wrongdoing.
Grand Jury Subpoenas and Whistleblower Status
Grant disclosed that a search warrant and a grand jury subpoena containing her name and the word "trafficking" were served in connection with the investigation.
She said two additional grand jury subpoenas were later served on Jerry McDevitt, WWE's longtime outside counsel, and the law firm K&L Gates.
According to a February 2025 report from POST Wrestling, descriptions in court filings are consistent with McDevitt and K&L Gates being among the sealed appellants in a Second Circuit case involving the crime-fraud exception and loss of attorney-client privilege. McDevitt, who previously represented McMahon and WWE, stated in 2023 that he was retiring.
Grant also said she received official SEC whistleblower status, and that within three days of receiving it, McMahon and Ari Emanuel appeared on CNBC to announce the Endeavor/WWE merger that created TKO Group Holdings.
Five Simultaneous Legal Proceedings
Grant described five concurrent legal matters stemming from a single NDA:
- A DOJ federal criminal investigation
- An SEC investigation with criminal penalties
- A shareholder derivative suit with a hearing scheduled for June
- A Second Circuit ruling on the crime-fraud exception resulting in loss of attorney-client privilege
- Her own federal civil lawsuit
That's one big pileup," she said.
Separately, court filings from February 2026 confirm that Grant, McMahon, and WWE have agreed to oral arguments in June 2026 on defendants' motions to compel arbitration. The parties will argue over whether arbitration should be required, not that they have agreed to resolve the case through arbitration.
WWE Asked Her to Say It Was "Consensual"
Grant alleged that WWE reached out after the initial Wall Street Journal story and asked her to issue a joint statement describing her relationship with McMahon as consensual, offering additional money as incentive. She said she refused.
In a second Wall Street Journal story published in July 2022, a WWE company spokesperson made the statement on her behalf — without her input. "Leaving out one half of an experiencing party on a decision like that is not consent," Grant said.
She also said she spent six figures that summer to participate in WWE's internal investigation, on new legal retainers and medical care, and preserved all of her evidence.
The company's investigation was closed without anyone speaking to her. Bound by her NDA, she said she could not disclose that fact publicly at the time.
The "Love Letter" and the WWE Storyline
Grant characterized two additional events as acts of intimidation during the federal investigation.
She described a purported "love letter" found on a corporate laptop and published in the New York Post as "a public humiliation and an intimidation of a person who gets letters from the FBI that say 'victim.'" She called it witness intimidation designed to discourage others from associating with her.
She also addressed a WWE television storyline that aired during the summer of 2024, which she and others said appeared to parallel her situation.
Does it look like we work in a safe environment when the destination point, if you're hurt, is the weaponized use of your experience on live TV, every Monday night for months? By their actions and by their reactions, that says a lot more about current leadership than it says about me.
A Direct Message to TKO's Board
Grant closed with a direct address to the board of TKO Group Holdings, the parent company of WWE formed through the Endeavor merger.
If you didn't know this part of your origin story, now you know," she said. "I hope you will have conversations with us. I hope you have conversations amongst yourselves. And I hope that you don't rely on old instincts with new insight.
She also expressed concern for current WWE employees in Stamford, Connecticut, where WWE maintains its corporate headquarters.
There is a headquarters in Stamford, Connecticut, right now that is full of intimidated people that I care very much about," Grant said.
The Policy Call: NDA Reform in Connecticut
The briefing was organized by Beth Hamilton, executive director of the Connecticut Alliance to End Sexual Violence, whom Grant credited with bringing her to Hartford. Grant said a Thanksgiving phone call to thank Hamilton led to her appearance, describing it as a "human-to-human moment" that set the advocacy effort in motion.
Grant urged Connecticut lawmakers to treat her case as a cautionary tale for NDA policy reform, arguing that non-disclosure agreements used to conceal misconduct do not eliminate harm but relocate it. "No one should be required to trade silence for accountability. And no workplace should be able to become safer for an institution than the people inside of it," she said.
Background
Grant filed her initial federal civil lawsuit in January 2024 against McMahon, WWE, and former WWE head of talent relations John Laurinaitis, alleging sexual assault and sex trafficking during her employment from 2019 to 2022. Laurinaitis has since been dropped from the lawsuit.
An amended complaint filed in January 2025 and formally allowed by the court in May 2025 added new evidence and de-anonymized several WWE executives previously referenced under pseudonyms. McMahon resigned from TKO Group Holdings following the original lawsuit's filing. All defendants have denied all allegations.
Thursday's address was only the second time Grant has spoken publicly about the case. The first time was before federal investigators.
