Former WWE CEO Vince McMahon is taking public issue with an upcoming Netflix documentary series, which focuses on his career with the company. The founder of World Wrestling Entertainment, McMahon is no longer involved with the company in any capacity, following various sexual assault allegations and a sex trafficking lawsuit from former employee Janel Grant.
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Netflix’s upcoming documentary series, Mr. McMahon, takes its name from the in-ring persona that McMahon developed within WWE over the years. The negative aspects of the character have become synonymous with McMahon, especially in recent years as more and more allegations of his behavior have come to light. McMahon, however, believes that he’s not been painted accurately by the doc. Having watched an early cut of the series, McMahon claims the series has “misrepresented” a lot about him and will cause viewers to believe false narratives.
“I don’t regret participating in this Netflix documentary,” McMahon wrote in a statement released on social media channels Monday night. “The producers had an opportunity to tell an objective story about my life and the incredible business I built, which were equally filled with excitement, drama, fun, and a fair amount of controversy and life lessons. Unfortunately, based on an early partial cut I’ve seen, this doc falls short and takes the predictable path of conflating the ‘Mr. McMahon’ character with my true self, Vince. The title and promos alone make that evident.’
“A lot has been misrepresented or left out entirely in an effort to leave viewers intentionally confused. The producers use typical editing tricks with out of context footage and dated soundbites etc. to distort the viewers’ perception and support a deceptive narrative. In an attempt to further their misleading account, the producers use a lawsuit based on an affair I ended as evidence that I am, in fact, ‘Mr. McMahon.’ I hope the viewer will keep an open mind and remember that there are two sides to every story.”
Grant’s attorney, Ann Callis, issued a statement on Monday evening responding to McMahon’s words about the upcoming documentary.
“Vince McMahon physically and emotionally abused, sexually assaulted and human trafficked Janel Grant for more than two years. Calling this horrific behavior ‘an affair’ is delusional and nothing more than a sad attempt to save his shredded reputation. Although Ms. Grant has not seen the Mr. McMahon docuseries, we hope it shines a bright light on his abhorrent and criminal actions by accurately portraying the realities of his abusive and explosive behavior.
“Ms. Grant will no longer be silenced by McMahon. Her story, though deeply troubling and exceptionally painful, is one that can help other abuse survivors find their voices. We seek to hold McMahon, John Laurinaitis and WWE accountable and to give Ms. Grant her day in court.”
The Mr. McMahon series is a six-part documentary that is meant to explore the former CEO’s “controversial reign” as the head of the company. Mr. McMahon comes from director Chris Smith, who previously directed Netflix’s hit Tiger King documentary series. Smith was working on the series before many of the current allegations against McMahon came to light, causing changes to the project on the fly.
“Over the four years of production, the story evolved in truly shocking ways, culminating in some extremely harrowing allegations,” Smith said. “The final product is a revealing documentary that we believe offers a rich and nuanced portrait of the man and the complex legacy he left behind.”
Mr. McMahon a six-part documentary series that will debut on Netflix this Wednesday. This documentary will ultimately serve as a first step to a massive new partnership between Netflix and the WWE, with the streamer taking over as the exclusive home of flagship series Monday Night Raw in 2025.
