The Wall Street Journal has reportedly found more payments made by WWE Head Honcho Vince McMahon.
The source reported on Friday that McMahon agreed to pay more than $12 million over the past 16 years to "suppress allegations of sexual misconduct and infidelity, an amount far larger than previously known." The report includes McMahon allegedly paid off a former performer for her silence.
It's being reported that this is "hush money".
The $12 million was paid to four women who were allegedly employees or affiliated of the global wrestling company WWE.
The Wall Street Journal first reported last month that McMahon was under investigation by the WWE Board of Directors for reportedly paying a former paralegal employee $3 million in hush money.
But that $3M wasn't the largest payout. It's being reported that there was a pay out of $7.5 million to a former WWE performer who claimed that McMahon "coerced her into giving him oral sex and then demoted her and, ultimately, declined to renew her contract in 2005 after she resisted further sexual encounters, according to people familiar with the matter."
The wrestler and her attorney approached McMahon in 2018 and negotiated the $7.5 million payment "in return for her silence."
WWE has issued the following statement in lieu of the WSJ story:
The Wall Street Journal has published a second story with expanded details on its initial WWE report last month. We want to reiterate that we and our Board of Directors take these allegations seriously.
We’ve been cooperating fully with the investigation led by our Board of Directors and will continue to do so until its conclusion.
Please note that upon its conclusion, WWE leadership will make itself available to answer any questions you may have.
Thank you.