Rolling Stone article explains how Vince McMahon ruled the writers’ room with fear

An explosive new article from Rolling Stone makes new claims about WWE’s Vince McMahon era and the inner workings of its writers’ rooms.

Six former WWE writers have detailed the “hostile environment” that existed within the writers’ room between 2016 and 2022. According to the article, five of the former writers “asked to remain anonymous for fear of retaliation from from WWE, from their former writer. colleagues and rabid wrestling fans.

The article details an environment based on fear and intimidation within the writers’ room that Mr. McMahon ruled with an iron fist. Former writers claimed that verbal abuse was not limited to the writers’ room and that it was the dominant culture within corporate headquarters.

The article, written by Krystie Lee Yandoli, details several instances of writers speaking out against racist, xenophobic and offensive storylines involving talents like Muhammad Hassan, R-Truth, Titus O’Neil and Mark Henry. It also details the lawsuit filed against the company by Britney Abrahams, who claims she was fired after speaking out against racism in the writers’ room.

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Former authors also expressed doubts that the company’s culture would change under content chief Paul “Triple H” Levesque. One writer was quoted as saying: “There are a lot of people complicit in maintaining this culture. I highly doubt that has changed, even with Triple H in charge. I just don’t think it’s really possible.

Vince McMahon was the former CEO and executive chairman of TKO Group Holdings, the company created after the 2023 merger of WWE and UFC. Mr. McMahon resigned from the company in January 2024 after a lawsuit brought by Janel Grant. Ms Grant, who worked for WWE between 2019 and 2022, filed a lawsuit against Mr McMahon, John Laurinaitis and WWE on January 25.

Mr McMahon has denied all allegations. Mr. Laurinaitis, through his lawyer, denied any wrongdoing and said he, too, was a victim.

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