Subhojeet Mukherjee on December 13, 2022
Vince McMahon made headlines back in June after it was discovered that he secretly paid $3 million as a hush money deal to a departing employee. An investigation was launched immediately after these allegations came to light. All of this resulted in Vince McMahon being forced to step down as Chairman of WWE. Now it seems McMahon is facing even more lawsuits from women he allegedly assaulted in the past.
According to the Wall Street Journal, a lawyer for former wrestling referee Rita Chatterton asked for $11.75 million in damages, in a letter dated November 3rd.
In a Nov. 3 demand letter to Mr. McMahon’s representative, a lawyer for former wrestling referee Rita Chatterton asked for $11.75 million in damages after she publicly accused Mr. McMahon three decades ago of raping her in a limousine. Mr. McMahon has long denied the allegations. The demand letter was reviewed by The Wall Street Journal.
In a separate November email to Mr. McMahon’s attorney, a lawyer for a former spa manager said that Mr. McMahon assaulted his client in 2011 at a California resort, an incident previously unreported in the media.
Chatterton’s current lawyer, Mr. Clune, stated that the former referee passed a polygraph test and that multiple sources corroborated her account, essentially confirming she informed their sources about the alleged sexual assault. Greg Valentine also provided further background regarding the allegations.
Mr. Clune, Ms. Chatterton’s current lawyer, said in the demand letter that Ms. Chatterton had passed a polygraph and that multiple sources corroborated her account, two of whom confirmed to the Journal that Ms. Chatterton contemporaneously told them about the alleged rape.
John Wisniski, who wrestled as Greg Valentine, told the Journal that Ms. Chatterton disclosed the allegations while the two were sharing a marijuana cigarette in a Marriott hotel parking lot in Albany, N.Y., in the 1980s. Mr. Wisniski said he didn’t believe Ms. Chatterton then or now, because he didn’t think she was attractive enough for Mr. McMahon. Leonard Inzitari, who went to wrestling school with Ms. Chatterton, said in a magazine interview published earlier this year that Ms. Chatterton was shaking and crying as she recounted the alleged rape while the two of them stood outside the ring before a 1986 WWF event. Mr. Inzitari said in a call with the Journal that he stands by his comments and believes her allegations.
It was eventually revealed that McMahon paid $12 million in hush money to several women over the two decades. That was the last straw for McMahon, as his career in WWE was basically over at this point. In fact, an additional $5 million dollars of unrecorded expenses were linked to Vince McMahon.
Vince McMahon is no longer in contact with his employees at WWE. This is certainly shocking news, as fans believed McMahon was no longer going to be making headlines anymore. Regardless, we will keep you updated on this ongoing story.
What’s your take on these allegations? Sound off in the comments!
December 13, 2022 11:52 am
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