WWE producer Lee Fitting, reportedly terminated from ESPN in the previous year due to allegations of inappropriate conduct towards women, has once again been under fire. As noted earlier on eWn, Fitting assumed his role at WWE in January this year, and allegations that emerged indicate he had a history of reportedly intimidating female colleagues during his tenure at ESPN.
Kendra Barkoff-Lamy, representative for Janel Grant, has issued a media statement to express her views on these recent claims. Below is the full press release:
Immediate Response to Fresh Accusations About Top WWE Producer’s Alleged History of Abusive Workplace Behavior
An unsafe atmosphere is allegedly being sustained by WWE due to hiring individuals reputed to have predatory tendencies and muting the voices of alleged harassment and workplace misconduct survivors
NEW YORK – Today Kendra Barkoff-Lamy, representing Janel Grant, made public a statement related to new insights provided by The Athletic about the alleged history of sexual misconduct and workplace harassment by Lee Fitting, the ex-Senior Vice President of Production at ESPN and the present WWE Head of Media & Production.
“Contrary to WWE assertions of commitment to its company’s cultural overhaul, they employed a man who earlier this year was allegedly implicated in sexual misconduct and workplace harassment in his prior role. The claims related to Lee Fitting’s tenure at ESPN are deeply unsettling. Revelations like these prompted Janel Grant’s legal team to send WWE and Endeavor a letter demanding that all staff members, past and present, be released from their Non-Disclosure Agreements (NDAs). Janel Grant’s alleged abuses are still being overlooked while individuals rumoured to have predatory inclinations continue to occupy important positions. This trend must be arrested immediately.”
In October, legal representatives for Ms. Grant urged WWE leadership in a letter addressed to WWE President Nick Khan, WWE Chief Content Officer Paul “Triple H” Levesque, and Endeavor (WWE’s parent company) CEO Ari Emanuel to relinquish the company’s non-disclosure agreements, thereby empowering both former and current employees, wrestlers and contractors to voice their experiences relating to sexual misconduct, sexual assault, harassment, and the allegedly harmful culture pervading WWE. No feedback has been forthcoming from either WWE or Endeavor to this letter.
The full contents of the letter follow:
“A call to arms for WWE to free both former and current employees and contractors from Non-Disclosure Agreements”
The allegedly harmful and overly sexualized culture prevailing at WWE under the stewardship of Mr. McMahon as CEO and Chairman was reputedly public knowledge. Still, what has been reported is far from the entire story. We have interacted with anonymous witnesses describing a WWE culture that marginalizes both women and men. We have been informed that several victims are hesitant to step forward due to fear of reprisal stemming from punitive non-disclosure and nondisparagement agreements. Our client is merely one of many as yet unknown individuals.
The path to recovery and move beyond its questionable past for WWE cannot be achieved if victims continue to be silenced. The right to share their experiences, in their own words, is a fundamental one for survivors. Forced silence only exacerbates existing traumas related to sexual abuse. Every act of muting the voice of a survivor inadvertently re-victimizes them, making them live in fear of the backlash from a megacorporation capable of enlisting a multitude of lawyers to bury them in legal fees should they decide to voice their truths.
Even the existence of unenforceable NDAs, such as the one our client was compelled to sign, result in a chilling effect due to individuals’ lack of will or resources to challenge them. WWE is under obligation to specify that any NDAs that it has entered into are not aimed at preventing disclosure of sexual misconduct, abuse or assault, and abnegate and waive any potential claims it may possess under those NDAs if current or former employees and contractors opt to speak out.
We strongly implore WWE to actively and promptly free its current and former employees and contractors from any obligations that may arise from any WWE-implemented NDAs potentially preventing them from discussing their experiences of sexual misconduct, abuse, or assault during their time at WWE.
The ball is in the WWE’s court to prove that its corporate culture has been genuinely transformed.
Best regards,
Ann E. Callis
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