(Bloomberg) -- A former World Wrestling Entertainment Inc. employee accused the company’s executive chairman Vince McMahon of sex trafficking and said she was paid “hush money” to stay silent.

Janel Grant said in a lawsuit that she was sexually exploited and degraded by McMahon during his time as chief executive officer. She said she was forced to perform sexual acts in exchange for employment and that she was trafficked to other men at the company by McMahon.

“Unsurprisingly, others at WWE knew what was going on,” Grant’s lawyers said in the lawsuit filed in federal court in Connecticut. “But instead of intervening to protect Ms. Grant, WWE actively sought to conceal the wrongdoing.”

In January 2022, Grant said she signed a non-disclosure agreement under “immense pressure” and in exchange for payment to stay quiet about McMahon’s misconduct. She was promised $3 million, but never received the full payment, according to the lawsuit.

A spokesman for McMahon said the wrestling industry icon will vigorously defend himself against the allegations.

“This lawsuit is replete with lies, obscene made-up instances that never occurred, and a vindictive distortion of the truth,” the spokesman said in a statement.

WWE Retirement

McMahon retired from WWE in July 2022 after it was announced that he was being investigated by his board for agreements to pay $12 million over the past 16 years to settle allegations of sexual misconduct brought by four women affiliated with the company at different times.

In the lawsuit, Grant said the investigation “was a sham,” and that she was never interviewed. The Wall Street Journal was first to report on the lawsuit.

McMahon returned to WWE in 2023 and oversaw the sale of the company to Endeavor Group. He now serves as executive chairman of the combined company, TKO Group Holdings Inc. 

A spokesperson for TKO said McMahon “does not control TKO nor does he oversee the day-to-day operations of WWE.”

“While this matter pre-dates our TKO executive team’s tenure at the company, we take Ms. Grant’s horrific allegations very seriously and are addressing this matter internally.”

The lawsuit comes days after Netflix Inc. acquired the exclusive rights to Raw from WWE in a $5 billion deal.

The case is Janel Grant v. World Wrestling Entertainment, 3:24-cv-00090, US District Court, District of Connecticut.

(Updates with McMahon statement in fifth paragraph and TKO Group in 11th.)

©2024 Bloomberg L.P.