According to a new report from Newsweek, WWE is facing boycott calls over the the sex trafficking and abuse lawsuit filed last Thursday by Janel Grant against Vince McMahon, John Laurinaitis and WWE.
In the lawsuit, Grant states that she was subjected to repeated sexual assaults, including instances in which McMahon and now former WWE Executive John Laurinaitis, allegedly coerced her into sexual acts with promises of job security and promotional opportunities within WWE.
Newsweek also notes that users on X, have used the hashtag #BoycottWWE as a way to condemn the alleged actions of McMahon and demanding a response from the WWE. The report further notes that some fans are even calling on Netflix to reconsider their recently announced new deal that which will see WWE’s flagship show Raw move to the streaming platform starting January 2025.
Netflix is shelling out $5 billion for the rights to stream Raw and has the option to reassess the agreement after five years, with the potential to extend it up to 10 years, depending on how well WWE programming does on the streaming platform. Through Netflix, Raw will be seen in the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom and Latin America.
At the time of this writing, Netflix has not publicly commented on the recent boycott or the allegations against McMahon, who resigned from TKO, WWE last Friday. Slim Jim, who has been a long-time partner of WWE, last Friday had paused their promotional activities with WWE. After WWE CEO Nick Khan confirmed McMahon’s departure, the next day, Slim Jim announced they had resumed their partnership with WWE, which came just hours before Saturday’s Royal Rumble.
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On a related to note, WWE Hall of Famers Nikki and Brie Bella (Garcia), who are the daughters-in-law of former WWE executive John Laurinaitis, took to social media to comment on the allegations made against WWE.