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PORTSIDE CULTURE

FORMER WWE WRITERS ALLEGE HOSTILE, ABUSIVE WORKPLACE UNDER VINCE
MCMAHON  
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Matt Schimkowitz
October 20, 2024
AV Club
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_ Six former WWE staffers paint a hostile picture of working under
McMahon, calling him the leader of a "kingdom ruled by fear." _

, Photo by Michael N. Todaro (Getty Images)

 

Six former WWE writers have accused their old boss and workplace of
fostering a hostile workplace built on fear, abuse, and sexism. In a
new report from _Rolling Stone_
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the former writers paint a toxic picture of WWE’s internal culture,
one that’s “ruled by fear,” trickling downward from disgraced
former CEO Vince McMahon.

McMahon is currently under federal investigation in connection to a
lawsuit accusing McMahon of sexual assault and sex trafficking
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After the bombshell filing from Janel Grant, who accused McMahon of
pressuring her with sex in exchange for a job and job
opportunities, McMahon resigned as executive chairman of TKO
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conglomerate that owns WWE and UFC
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McMahon denied the allegations through his legal representatives.

One writer, Michael Leonardi, told _Rolling Stone _he began at WWE
in 2002 and was fired in 2016. Leonardi claims he wanted to tone down
the overt racism of Vince McMahon’s scripted segments. In one
instance, Leonardi made a “small tweak” and cut a line in which a
white British character said, “I’ve got a dream too, and that
dream is to win the Royal Rumble” on Martin Luther King Jr. Day in
2016.

Leonardi found himself in a similar position in 2005 when superiors
demoted him for voicing concerns about a 2005 segment in which the
character Muhammad Hassan (played by Marc Copani), who was developed
to exploit rampant Islamophobia after 9/11 era, staged a terrorist
attack on the Undertaker days after the London bombings
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segment was fiercely condemned by viewers, forcing Hassan off
television and destroying Copani’s wrestling career.

Female writers within WWE allege their own indignities, including
unwanted and unnecessary touching and criticism of female wrestlers’
bodies and appearances that went outside the bounds of acceptability.
“On the one hand, this is the product in the story, but on the other
hand, I feel like we’re not talking about the story anymore, “the
writer told _Rolling Stone_.” The undertones are dangerous, and
what they wanted in their environment scared me.”

Women describe a “boys club” at WWE. After enough female writers
complained, HR held a “women’s forum” for affected staffers to
air grievances. Afterward, leadership told them at an in-person
meeting that they “were acting like middle schoolers” and were
told not to go to HR in the future.

This culture was the influence of McMahon, the writers say, who had
strict codes of conduct, including no sneezing around the boss (who
sees sneezing as a sign of weakness), pushing chairs into the table
after getting up, and having a formal dress code that includes keeping
shoes shined. Ultimately, the writers saw this as part of McMahon’s
sadism, believing “he enjoyed the manipulation.” As many wrestling
fans know, whatever was discussed in the writers’ room would be
mostly thrown out by the first bell, leaving McMahon to rewrite from
scratch, to the dismay of the talent and fans.

“By the time Monday rolled around, and we were all in the production
meeting, something else was gonna happen,” one former writer
told _Rolling Stone_. “It almost felt like a joke, like we were
just there to satisfy Vince’s whims. We were all Vince McMahon
transcribers.”

* WWE
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* hostile workplace
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* sexism
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* vince mcmahon
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* Racism
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* Islamaphobia
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