In this articleWWEFollow your favorite stocksCREATE FREE ACCOUNTVince McMahon, right, and Donald Trump attend a press conference about the WWE at the Austin Straubel International Airport in Green Bay, Wisconsin, on June 22, 2009.Mark A. Wallenfang | Getty ImagesAs he faces a mountain of legal woes, former WWE leader Vince McMahon is traveling, eating out and keeping in touch with friends and associates — including former President Donald Trump.McMahon resigned as executive chairman of World Wrestling Entertainment’s parent company in late January after a former employee, Janel Grant, accused him in a bombshell lawsuit of sexual abuse and trafficking. He denied the allegations. McMahon, 78, is also facing a federal criminal investigation, although he hasn’t been charged.NBC News and CNBC talked with 11 people familiar with McMahon and WWE about how he’s been spending his time — and how the global brand he built over more than four decades is moving on without him. These people, including close personal associates and company insiders, declined to be named, citing ongoing legal cases and the confidential nature of internal corporate communications.Multiple WWE insiders said he hasn’t had any contact with company leaders and figureheads since he resigned. Mark Shapiro, the operating chief of WWE parent company TKO Group Holdings, said in March that McMahon “doesn’t work for the company, doesn’t come into the office, and he’s not coming back to the company.”That also means McMahon hasn’t talked to his son-in-law, WWE creative chief and former superstar Paul “Triple H” Levesque, or daughter, Stephanie McMahon-Levesque, regarding company matters, sources said. While she introduced WWE’s WrestleMania event earlier this month, McMahon-Levesque, who worked beside her father for more than 20 years and played roles in storylines, currently has no involvement with the company, according to people familiar with the matter. Levesque and McMahon-Levesque declined to comment through a spokesperson, as did a WWE representative. McMahon is nonetheless indelibly linked to the wrestling outfit, which he bought from his father 42 years ago. Still, he seems to have moved on, according to multiple sources. McMahon has kept up his other routines, and it’s as if he’s unfazed by his legal fights, two sources said.For instance, on an afternoon in late March, McMahon returned on a private plane to the United States from the sunny Turks and Caicos Islands — but he wasn’t alone, according to a person close to him. He had with him seven kittens and a puppy, all of which he brought back to be adopted by his friends, this person added.”If anything, he’s enjoying life,” said the person, who added that McMahon had also taken a trip to Italy. Jessica Rosenberg, an attorney for McMahon, declined to comment regarding the aspects of the former WWE chief’s life reported in this article. In an emailed statement Tuesday, however, she criticized Grant’s suit: “The lawsuit’s claims are false, defamatory and entirely without merit. We intend to vigorously defend Mr. McMahon and are confident that he will be vindicated.”Life amid litigationThe details of McMahon’s life after his WWE reign present a stark contrast to Grant’s accusations, which paint a graphic …
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[mwai_chat context=”Let’s have a discussion about this article:nnIn this articleWWEFollow your favorite stocksCREATE FREE ACCOUNTVince McMahon, right, and Donald Trump attend a press conference about the WWE at the Austin Straubel International Airport in Green Bay, Wisconsin, on June 22, 2009.Mark A. Wallenfang | Getty ImagesAs he faces a mountain of legal woes, former WWE leader Vince McMahon is traveling, eating out and keeping in touch with friends and associates — including former President Donald Trump.McMahon resigned as executive chairman of World Wrestling Entertainment’s parent company in late January after a former employee, Janel Grant, accused him in a bombshell lawsuit of sexual abuse and trafficking. He denied the allegations. McMahon, 78, is also facing a federal criminal investigation, although he hasn’t been charged.NBC News and CNBC talked with 11 people familiar with McMahon and WWE about how he’s been spending his time — and how the global brand he built over more than four decades is moving on without him. These people, including close personal associates and company insiders, declined to be named, citing ongoing legal cases and the confidential nature of internal corporate communications.Multiple WWE insiders said he hasn’t had any contact with company leaders and figureheads since he resigned. Mark Shapiro, the operating chief of WWE parent company TKO Group Holdings, said in March that McMahon “doesn’t work for the company, doesn’t come into the office, and he’s not coming back to the company.”That also means McMahon hasn’t talked to his son-in-law, WWE creative chief and former superstar Paul “Triple H” Levesque, or daughter, Stephanie McMahon-Levesque, regarding company matters, sources said. While she introduced WWE’s WrestleMania event earlier this month, McMahon-Levesque, who worked beside her father for more than 20 years and played roles in storylines, currently has no involvement with the company, according to people familiar with the matter. Levesque and McMahon-Levesque declined to comment through a spokesperson, as did a WWE representative. McMahon is nonetheless indelibly linked to the wrestling outfit, which he bought from his father 42 years ago. Still, he seems to have moved on, according to multiple sources. McMahon has kept up his other routines, and it’s as if he’s unfazed by his legal fights, two sources said.For instance, on an afternoon in late March, McMahon returned on a private plane to the United States from the sunny Turks and Caicos Islands — but he wasn’t alone, according to a person close to him. He had with him seven kittens and a puppy, all of which he brought back to be adopted by his friends, this person added.”If anything, he’s enjoying life,” said the person, who added that McMahon had also taken a trip to Italy. Jessica Rosenberg, an attorney for McMahon, declined to comment regarding the aspects of the former WWE chief’s life reported in this article. In an emailed statement Tuesday, however, she criticized Grant’s suit: “The lawsuit’s claims are false, defamatory and entirely without merit. We intend to vigorously defend Mr. McMahon and are confident that he will be vindicated.”Life amid litigationThe details of McMahon’s life after his WWE reign present a stark contrast to Grant’s accusations, which paint a graphic …nnDiscussion:nn” ai_name=”RocketNews AI: ” start_sentence=”Can I tell you more about this article?” text_input_placeholder=”Type ‘Yes'”]
