Former WWE chairman Vince McMahon is into fresh legal trouble, with a Baltimore County lawsuit alleging he ignored sexual abuse claims involving former employees known as "Ring Boys."
The lawsuit also mentions his wife, Linda McMahon, and two companies she and her husband founded, WWE and its ownership group, TKO Group. Just the other day, Vince was accused of running a toxic writers' room in WWE.
Abuse Claims Against WWE's Ring Crew Chief
TMZ learns that the case regards Melvin Phillips Jr., an employee who worked as the ring crew chief, and ringside announcer at WWE, who is suing them for allegedly exploiting the youth of these boys by hiring them under pretenses.
Some were as young as 12 and 13 years old for tasks on wrestling shows but used the jobs to sexualize the boys while promising that they'd get WWE events if they were quiet.
Abuse in Plain Sight
The lawsuit asserts that Phillips preyed on damaged children whose parents were divorced and that the abuse took place in matches, hotel rooms, and even "in plain sight."
Although Phillips died in 2012, the lawsuit alleges that WWE executives, including McMahon, knew about the abuse but did nothing to prevent it.
FBI Investigation Reveals More Victims
Rolling Stone reports that the lawsuit complains that an FBI investigation revealed at least 10 of Phillips' victims, but it is surmised that there are many more who have not come forward to speak out. Advocates for the accusers are loudly lamenting that WWE has allowed this abuse to be permitted unchecked and called it "unconscionable."
"Thanks to the bravery of our clients, we finally have a chance to hold accountable those who allowed and enabled the open, rampant sexual abuse of these young boys," Greg Gutzler, a partner at DiCello Levitt, said in a press release.
McMahon's Previous Scandals Return to Haunt Him
McMahon, of course, stepped down from WWE in January 2024 after allegations surfaced that he and former executive John Laurinaitis had engaged in sexual misconduct with a former employee, claims to which he has pleaded guilty. This latest lawsuit casts his legacy in an even more critical light as people ask how WWE handled such major internal affairs through the years.
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