Vince McMahon Settles With Ex-WWE Referee Over Rape Allegations: WSJ

STAMFORD, CT — World Wrestling Entertainment's Executive Chairman Vince McMahon has agreed to a multimillion-dollar settlement with Rita Chatterton, a former wrestling referee who accused him of raping her in 1986, according to a report from The Wall Street Journal.

McMahon's lawyer told the WSJ his client has always denied the allegations from Chatterton, and agreed to pay her to avoid the cost of litigation.

Earlier this month, McMahon returned to WWE to participate in upcoming media rights deals negotiations and review "strategic alternatives" for WWE, which could involve a sale of the Stamford-based company.

Chatterton, the first woman referee hired by what was then the World Wrestling Federation, sought $11.75 million in damages. The settlement amount was less than that, the WSJ said.

It's been a turbulent past year for McMahon, 77, who stepped down and ultimately retired last July as the head of WWE following the launch of an investigation by the company's board into allegations of sexual misconduct against himself and John Laurinaitis, another WWE executive.

The WSJ reported that McMahon paid $14.6 million to multiple women in order to silence the allegations of sexual misconduct and infidelity from 2006 to 2022.

WWE said in security filings last summer that it discovered two additional payments totaling $5 million that McMahon made unrelated to misconduct allegations.

Upon his return to WWE this month, McMahon removed three people from the board of directors, and was subsequently unanimously appointed as executive chairman of the board.

McMahon's daughter, Stephanie McMahon, announced her return to a leave of absence and her resignation as co-CEO and chairwoman of the company.

"WWE is entering a critical juncture in its history with the upcoming media rights negotiations coinciding with increased industry-wide demand for quality content and live events and with more companies seeking to own the intellectual property on their platforms," McMahon said in a statement earlier this month.

"The only way for WWE to fully capitalize on this opportunity is for me to return as Executive Chairman and support the management team in the negotiations for our media rights and to combine that with a review of strategic alternatives," he added. "My return will allow WWE, as well as any transaction counterparties, to engage in these processes knowing they will have the support of the controlling shareholder."

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