The lawyer for Janel Grant, the woman who filed a lawsuit on Thursday accusing Vince McMahon of sex trafficking, sexual assault and more, recently spoke with Angenette Levy for Law & Crime Network to discuss her client’s lawsuit.
You can check out some highlights from the interview below:
On why the relationship continued: “There is a thing called trauma bonding that people who haven’t studied it, I have just read articles; I’m not a psychiatrist or psychologist, but an attorney. She literally felt caged and imprisoned by Vince McMahon. The escalation of the degrading things that happened to her, it’s important for it to come out.”
On what Grant wants to achieve with the lawsuit: “She wants her life back. She wants ownership of her story. She wants to help other victims. This is relatively close in time, 2019 when this unfolded, 2020, and her hope is to help other victims if there are other victims, to come forward because she had the courage and presence of mind to finally get this done and come forward.”
On what Grant is doing now: “What happened to her, and what was alleged, left her physically and mentally absolutely destroyed. She is trying to recover and she believes this is the first step. Filing this lawsuit took such tremendous courage from her. She was in an extremely vulnerable position when she first encountered Vince McMahon. Her parents had passed, she was the primary caregiver for her parents. Besides being an inordinately playing field between Vince McMahon and Janel, she still tried to conduct herself, tried to be the best possible employee for the WWE that she could be under the most devastating and sexually depraved circumstances.”
On if the assaults were known within WWE: “It is disturbing. What happened to her is disturbing. I believe it was in Laurinaitis’ office, that they locked. She was sexually assaulted, we are claiming, the WWE headquarters, under the nose of the executives and the employees… It is horrifying. Janel was in an atmosphere of fear. Perhaps some of the employees, or many of the employees, were in an atmosphere of fear. That permeated her being and I think it permeated the entire headquarters.”
On if they believe there are other victims of McMahons’: “Whether they worked in the company or not, yes, the belief is there are other victims out there, just the way the grooming of Janel went on, it indicates that. There are a lot of indicators that there may be, and probably are, other victims out there. One of Janel’s hopes is that by coming forward she will give the courage of other victims to come forward too… That’s later for trial when we gather all of our witnesses. Personally, she does not, but there can be empirical circumstances that she may have encountered that could have indicated there were other victims, but personally, one-on-one, she doesn’t have direct knowledge.”
On if there are additional text messages or other evidence out there: “We have her first-hand testimony. Gathering all the evidence, are there other text messages out there? Yes. This was just the complaint. Now, we are building the pool of evidence that we will present to a jury.”
On the NDA: “It was attached to our complaint, so we are trying to invalidate it.”
On if TKO has reached out to Grant: “No… I believe we were, at least Janel, was fine that they did acknowledge [in their statement][ what happened to her was horrific.”
On whether Grant felt preyed upon and targeted: “She was targetedand preyed upon. As I mentioned before, she was in a very vulnerable position and Vince McMahon took advantage of that and then took it a million steps further in the sexual torture, the degradation, the push-pull of trauma bonding all occurred to her. She still, to this day, trying to process what happened to her. She literally could not get out of bed. She wasn’t having any personal grooming. She’s not really eating. It’s really taken a toll besides the physical injuries she’s suffered. It’s going to be a long process. Hopefully, yesterday, by filing this suit, is her first step in the healing process.”
Grant’s statement as read by Callis: “She hopes any doors of secrecy have been blown off their hinges and that fresh air fills the headquarters. She hopes those at the company, past and present, who fear speaking out about harm is a thing of he past. She wishes everyone peace.”
In a recent lawsuit filed against Vince McMahon, the lawyer for Janel Grant, the woman accusing McMahon of sex trafficking and sexual assault, spoke out about her client’s case. The lawyer discussed various aspects of the lawsuit in an interview with Angenette Levy for Law & Crime Network.
One of the topics addressed was why the relationship between Grant and McMahon continued despite the alleged abuse. The lawyer explained that there is a phenomenon called trauma bonding, which occurs when a victim feels trapped and imprisoned by their abuser. Grant allegedly experienced escalating levels of degradation, and it is important for these details to come to light.
Grant’s main goal with the lawsuit is to regain control of her life and her story. She hopes to help other victims by encouraging them to come forward and seek justice. The lawyer emphasized that Grant’s courage in filing the lawsuit is a significant step towards her own recovery.
The lawyer also shed light on the disturbing possibility that the assaults were known within WWE. Grant was allegedly sexually assaulted at the WWE headquarters, under the nose of executives and employees. The lawyer expressed her horror at the situation and suggested that fear may have permeated the entire headquarters, creating an atmosphere of silence and intimidation.
When asked about the existence of other victims, the lawyer stated that there are indicators suggesting there may be additional victims. Grant’s hope is that by sharing her story, she will inspire other victims to come forward as well. However, the lawyer clarified that Grant does not have direct knowledge of other victims but believes there may be empirical circumstances pointing to their existence.
Regarding evidence, the lawyer mentioned that they have Grant’s first-hand testimony but are also gathering additional evidence such as text messages. They are in the process of building a pool of evidence to present to a jury.
The interview also touched upon the non-disclosure agreement (NDA) attached to the complaint. The lawyer stated that they are attempting to invalidate it as part of their legal strategy.
When asked if TKO, the parent company of WWE, has reached out to Grant, the lawyer responded negatively. However, they acknowledged that TKO did acknowledge the horrific nature of what happened to Grant in their statement.
Grant’s lawyer emphasized that she was targeted and preyed upon by McMahon. Grant was in a vulnerable position when she encountered McMahon, and he allegedly took advantage of her vulnerability. The lawyer described the sexual torture, degradation, and trauma bonding that Grant experienced, which has had a severe impact on her physical and mental well-being. Filing the lawsuit is seen as the first step in Grant’s healing process.
The article concludes with a statement from Grant, read by her lawyer. Grant hopes that the lawsuit will expose any secrets and bring about positive change within the WWE. She wishes for a future where individuals feel safe speaking out about harm and hopes for peace for everyone involved.
Overall, this interview provides insight into Janel Grant’s lawsuit against Vince McMahon and sheds light on the alleged abuse and its impact on her life.