Six former WWE creatives have made claims against the company’s former Chairman, Vince McMahon, alleging that he cultivated an environment of intimidation, sexism, and bullying. This information comes from a report by Rolling Stone, where the ex-creatives shared their experiences of McMahon’s conduct during their tenures at WWE.
Excerpts from the Rolling Stone feature include the following quotes:
1. “He turned to me and he said, ‘So you didn’t give me what I wanted?’” Michael Leonardi alleged McMahon got angry with him for revising a race-related line in a script, which created a very tense situation that left him feeling humiliated.
2. Another former writer discussed the culture of fear in the writers’ room: “If you’re being targeted in the room, nobody stands up for you… You don’t stick your head up out of the foxhole for anybody…”
3. Another reported McMahon’s habit of altering scripts at the last minute which made the creatives feel like they just had to cater to his unpredictability: “This isn’t to benefit the show or the storyline, Vince really just enjoys making people squirm.”
4. Complaints were also made about other writers, with one stating: “Those people were the most miserable people I’ve ever worked with…”
5. A female writer shared experiences of sexism: “They would pull me by my waist to come somewhere or move closer to them. I’m just super aware that it’s kind of close to my butt…”
6. A positive environment was reported during McMahon’s absence: When Vince wasn’t there… People start talking, the creativity [flows]…”
Furthermore, McMahon allegedly expected everyone to stand when he entered a room and would often leave his writers waiting “for hours” not knowing why.
Despite these allegations, a McMahon spokesman issued a rebuttal, stating that many writers had enjoyed working in the WWE’s creative rooms and that these writers are not indicative of the overall consensus or truth. The statement dismissed the idea that Vince demanded people to stand on his arrival as “ludicrous” and affirmed that the late-night meetings were due to Vince’s responsibilities as CEO.
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