American wrestling promoter Vince McMahon announced on Friday that he was retiring from his role as CEO of the powerful WWE, while an internal investigation looked into a secret agreement with an employee with whom he allegedly had an affair.
“As I approach 77, I feel it is time for me to retire as Chairman and CEO of WWE,” Vince McMahon wrote in a statement on the band’s website.
In June, the Wall Street Journal revealed that Vince McMahon had secretly entered into a $3 million confidentiality agreement with an employee with whom he allegedly had an extramarital affair.
Mr. McMahon had then announced that he was already withdrawing from his responsibilities within WWE, while the group conducted an internal investigation into this agreement.
At the beginning of July, the same Wall Street Journal reported that in all the CEO of WWE would have paid 12 million dollars over 16 years to conclude confidentiality agreements with four different women.
One of the deals, for $7.5 million, was reportedly with a former wrestler who accused Vince McMahon of forcing her to perform oral sex on him and was later downgraded in WWE status, before that his contract was not renewed in 2005.
A $1 million deal was also struck with another woman who accused the WWE boss of sexually harassing her at work and sending her unsolicited nude photos.
For more than 40 years, Vince McMahon has been one of the main architects of the development of wrestling in the United States, succeeding his father as head of the WWF, which has since become WWE, and transforming the company into a several billion dollars, at the crossroads of sport and entertainment.
He regularly stepped into the ring to take part in scripted fights, taking on the role of a shameless villain.
Vince McMahon has been married for more than 50 years to Linda McMahon, a former cabinet minister under Donald Trump, in charge of small businesses.
In his press release, Vince McMahon specifies that his daughter, Stephanie McMahon, will now be president of WWE, as well as co-general manager with the current chief revenue officer of the group, Nick Khan.
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