Six former WWE writers have come forward to accuse Vince McMahon of creating a hostile and sexist work environment during their respective tenures there.
The Rolling Stone piece, released Saturday night, has one former writer on the record with the rest choosing to remain anonymous due to a “fear of retribution from the WWE, their former colleagues, and rabid wrestling fans.”
One of the writers that did go on the record — Michael Leonardi — claimed he was fired due to making a change to a 2016 Martin Luther King Jr. Day Raw skit where Neville (currently PAC in AEW) was to reference King’s famous “I have a dream” speech. He allegedly didn’t want to say the line and it was given to R-Truth instead. While Leonardi’s boss Dave Kapoor was said to have approved the change, McMahon didn’t like it and lit into Leonardi who was eventually firing for being “not fit for the role.”
Through a representative, McMahon denied any wrongdoing for that incident or any of the accusations from the writers.
“Scores of writers could share tales of what an enjoyable, creative and freewheeling environment the WWE writers rooms were. This handful of (obviously disgruntled) individuals aren’t representative in any way of the consensus — or of the truth,” McMahon’s team told Rolling Stone.
McMahon’s team specifically denied Leonardi’s accounting of the above incident:
“The spokesperson acknowledged that McMahon had “an extremely hands-on approach” with WWE scripts, adding, “That’s why the idea of him suggesting or approving the use of a famous Martin Luther King, Jr. quote for a punchline to be used by a white British character is so ridiculous. It simply didn’t happen.”
A majority of the former writers that spoke to the outlet worked on both Raw and SmackDown from 2016 through 2022 with time spans between four months and five years. They detailed what they considered to be a hostile environment both on the road and in WWE’s corporate offices.
The story details other McMahon quirks that have trickled out through the years like his aversion to employees sneezing around him, standing up when he entered a room and sitting only when he sat, a formal dress code that included shoes that always were to be shined, and changing scripts repeatedly and at the last minute.
“The writer adds that there was something about McMahon’s changing directives that felt almost sadistic: “I think Vince enjoyed the manipulation. He liked changing things. He liked keeping people on their toes. I genuinely felt like, this isn’t to benefit the show or the storyline, Vince really just enjoys making people squirm.”
McMahon specifically denied the request to stand up to Rolling Stone.
The accusations extended to other writers who were in power positions, creating an environment where writers were either for McMahon’s ways or against them — effectively turning them against each other. The accusations also included unwelcome comments and physical contact within the creative staff.
“They would touch me where they would have me come closer [to them],” she claims. “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 and most people don’t touch me by the waist ever. I thought, ‘This is strange.'”
The story recounts the story of two former female writers who went to HR about the allegations with one being fired shortly afterward. After a Zoom call with female writers about the issues, the reaction was not positive.
“After the Zoom meeting, the writers who spoke with Rolling Stone say, there was an in-person meeting with the entire writers room in which senior leadership allegedly told everyone they were “acting like middle schoolers” and not to go to HR if they have any future problems.“
McMahon, who stepped down from his TKO and WWE leadership roles in 2022, is currently under federal investigation due to accusations in both the Janel Grant lawsuit against him and WWE, and for other hush money payouts he allegedly made in the past due to sexual misconduct.
None of the writers said they had direct knowledge or any of the information detailed in the Grant case.
