Janel Grant has made her first public appearance since her federal lawsuit against Vince McMahon and WWE was dismissed and moved into private arbitration.
Grant accepted the 2026 Advocacy in Action Award from the Connecticut Alliance to End Sexual Violence during the organization’s annual breakfast on September 11. Her speech focused on power, change and the impact people can have when they work together.
Grant did not use the appearance to address McMahon, WWE or the continuing legal dispute directly.
There’s a theme right now in the world,” Grant said. “A unifier around power. Powers that be, powers at play. Gaining it, winning it. Inner power, use of power.
The Alliance recognized Grant for supporting legislation intended to restrict the use of nondisclosure agreements to silence survivors. The organization also praised her efforts to develop standards addressing the connections between power imbalances, coercive control and mental health.
Grant’s appearance came less than two months after she, McMahon and WWE agreed to dismiss her federal lawsuit with prejudice. That prevents the same claims from being refiled in federal court but does not represent a ruling on their merits. The agreement expressly preserves each party’s ability to pursue its claims and defenses through private arbitration. Unlike the federal case, those proceedings and their eventual resolution may remain confidential.
Grant, who recently revealed a fall and hospitalization, filed the lawsuit in January 2024, accusing McMahon of sexual assault and trafficking while alleging that WWE enabled or concealed his conduct. McMahon has denied wrongdoing, and WWE has disputed Grant’s allegations.
Although the legal dispute has moved outside the public court system, Grant continues to advocate for NDA reform and greater protections for survivors of workplace sexual assault.
