Paul “Triple H” Levesque, the chief content officer at World Wrestling Entertainment, spoke publicly for the first time after Vince McMahon resigned from the board of WWE parent company TKO Group Holdings on Friday after a former employee accused McMahon of sex Human trafficking, sexual assault and physical abuse.
At a news conference after WWE's “Royal Rumble” event on Saturday in St. Petersburg, Florida, Levesque, McMahon's son-in-law, said he had not read the lawsuit and had no prior knowledge of it, adding that he “doesn't want to do it.” get lost in it.”
Levesque said he is doing “everything possible” to ensure employees are not taken advantage of and feel safe in the workplace. He did not provide any details about the actions WWE has taken.
TKO did not respond to CNN's request for comment on Levesque's statements at the press conference.
The horrific allegations against McMahon were made by Janel Grant, who worked at WWE headquarters. Grant claimed McMahon promised a job – and subsequent promotions – with WWE in exchange for sex.
Grant's lawsuit also includes allegations that McMahon trafficked her with other men inside and outside the company, including John Laurinaitis, a former wrestler who worked in the company's talent relations department. Laurinaitis is also named as a defendant in the lawsuit.
McMahon, 78, has denied the allegations and said he is prepared to defend himself in court.
McMahon stepped down from his role as the company's chairman and CEO in July 2022 amid a special commission set up by WWE to investigate his alleged misconduct. Laurinaitis left the company shortly afterwards.
McMahon returned as chairman of TKO in early 2023. In September, WWE officially merged with part of Hollywood power broker Ari Emanuel's Endeavor Group, UFC's parent company, to form TKO. The deal valued the newly combined company at over $21 billion, with WWE shareholders owning 49% of the combined company.
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Men's Royal Rumble winner Cody Rhodes said at the press conference that the allegations have cast “a dark cloud” over the company and he is unsure what the next chapter will be.
Levesque said it was “an amazing week” for WWE, after previously mentioning a 10-year, $5 billion deal announced Tuesday with streaming service Netflix, which will be the exclusive home of the “WWE” starting in 2025 Raw” program will be.
Also on Tuesday, Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson announced that he would be joining TKO’s board of directors.
CNN's Samantha Delouya, Elizabeth Wagmeister and Jordan Valinsky contributed to this report.
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