According to John Laurinaitis’ attorney, both Laurinaitis and Vince McMahon were aware of Ashley Massaro’s alleged assault during a WWE trip to Kuwait.
WARNING: This article contains discussion of sexual assault that readers may find distressing.
Former WWE Diva Ashley Massaro was part of the company’s 2007 overseas tour that included a visit to Kuwait. According to a sworn affidavit released after Massaro’s death in 2019, Massaro claims that she was drugged, paralyzed, and raped by someone acting as a military doctor during that tour.
Massaro writes in the statement that she was pulled into a meeting that included both Vince McMahon and John Laurinaitis after describing the incident to a WWE doctor, and she was told not to speak about the situation at risk of damaging WWE’s reputation with the US Military. She wrote:
“Vince led the meeting with these men and asked me to recount what happened in Kuwait. Then he said it was not in the best interest of the WWE for me to make the information about my attack public. I was still completely traumatized at that point and I just agreed. It was clear that there had already been a conversation and that they had reached a decision on their own prior to consulting with me as this was not a debate but rather Vince instructing me to keep this confidential.
“Vince did at least apologize for what I went through, but then stressed that if I disclosed this incident it would ruin the relationship between the WWE and the US Military. He told me not to let one bad experience ruin the good work they were doing.”
Massaro tragically passed away in May of 2019, and while her cause of death was never officially disclosed, it is believed she died by suicide. People close to Massaro have not denied this to be the case.
In a statement after her death, WWE denied any knowledge of Massaro’s allegations of rape, writing:
“At no time was Vince McMahon or the management of WWE ever informed by Ashley Massaro or anybody else that she had been sexually assaulted, drugged, raped or sodomized by a military doctor with a nurse standing guard while on a goodwill tour in 2007 to U.S. military bases in Kuwait. In fact, if she ever articulated such a claim to WWE, we would have reported it immediately to the Base Commander.
At no time was there ever a meeting with Vince McMahon, Kevin Dunn, John Laurinaitis or other company executives in which she told them of such a claim and was instructed to keep it quiet.”
On January 25th, former WWE employee Janel Grant filed a lawsuit containing graphic descriptions of emotional abuse, sexual assault, and sex trafficking at the hands of both Vince McMahon and John Laurinaitis. The next day, McMahon resigned from all duties with WWE and TKO while denying the allegations against him.
John Laurinaitis Says He & Vince McMahon Were Both Aware Of Ashley Massaro’s Rape Allegations
Now, VICE reports that Laurinaitis’ attorney Edward Brennan issued a statement declaring that WWE’s statement about Ashley Massaro is false. According to Brennan’s statement, Laurinaitis and Vince McMahon were both well aware of the allegations brought forth by Massaro, and further states that Laurinaitis was not involved in any sort of cover up. The statement to VICE reads:
“Any allegations that Mr. Laurinaitus helped to cover up an alleged rape allegation is an outright lie. Johnny, like most upper level management at sometime became aware of the allegations and ensured all proper WWE protocols were followed, including privacy for the alleged victim. We object to the use of the term cover up as no such plan or plot ever took place to hide or assist in the alleged rape.”
Massaro’s lawyer Konstantine Kryos recently addressed the toxic culture in WWE, noting that Massaro herself was also allegedly harassed by McMahon himself and suffered consequences when she rejected his alleged advances.
Former WWE Tag Team Champion Paul London, who dated Massaro in the past, compared McMahon & WWE to NXIVM, the sex cult run by convicted leader Keith Raniere that involved Smallville actress Allison Mack.