Janel Grant has spoken out about Vince McMahon again, and she says that despite the serious allegations against the former WWE chairman, she now feels “forgiveness” toward him.
In her first major interview about the case, conducted by POST Wrestling and Wrestlenomics, Grant was asked what she still feels toward McMahon.
“Forgiveness,” the former WWE employee said. “I don’t know how else to describe it, other than there’s something that does not take up space in my brain.”
Grant said she also feels empathy when she thinks about how The Wall Street Journal’s June 2022 report changed both of their lives. What occupies her mind today, she said, is the chain of decisions and events that led to the anonymous emails sent to the WWE board and to the nondisclosure agreement becoming public.
In the same interview, Grant said she was sexually abused at age 11 or 12, during the time she was involved in equestrian sports. By her account, the man accused kept working there, while she was simply told to keep her distance.
Grant sued McMahon and WWE in January 2024, accusing the former head of the company of physical and emotional abuse, sexual assault and sex trafficking. McMahon denies the allegations and says the relationship was consensual. He left his position as executive chairman of TKO shortly after the suit was filed.
The federal case ended in July, after Grant, McMahon and WWE agreed to move the dispute to private arbitration. The close of the federal lawsuit did not put an end to the allegations, which could still be argued in the confidential proceeding.
Grant has also become an advocate for NDA reform in Connecticut. On September 11, she received the Advocacy in Action Award from the Connecticut Alliance to End Sexual Violence. A bill she supported cleared two legislative committees this year but did not reach a final vote.