Vince McMahon has settled a rape allegation made against him by former WWE referee Rita Chatterton.
Chatterton had demanded $11.75 million from McMahon in a letter in November. The Wall Street Journal reports that the accusations were settled for less than that, but for an undisclosed sum worth “multimillion dollars.”
McMahon’s longtime lawyer Jerry McDevitt told the outlet, “Mr. McMahon denies and always has denied raping Ms. Chatterton. And he settled the case solely to avoid the cost of litigation.”
The Journal previously reported that McMahon reached multiple settlements with former female employees of WWE for sexual infidelity and/or misconduct, including a $7.5 million payout in 2018 to a former wrestler who accused him of coercing her into oral sex many years back.
Vince McMahon settled rape accusations with former WWE referee Rita Chatterton for an undisclosed sum worth multimillion dollars.Michael N. TodaroChatterton’s allegations against McMahon were first made in 1992 when she said in TV interviews that he raped her in the back of his limousine. McMahon sued her in 1993, claiming that she was urged to accuse him of sexual assault by a wrestler with an “axe to grind” but later withdrew the suit. At the time, he said that he dropped the suit to focus on defending himself against steroid charges, of which he was acquitted in 1994.
McMahon “retired” from WWE in July, but came storming back to the company earlier this month as executive chairman, firing several members of the board who initially sought to block his return while two others resigned.
McMahon stated that he was returning to the company to evaluate “strategic alternatives,” including a potential sale of the business, with WWE’s lucrative rights deals with Fox and USA Network set to expire in 2024.
Vince McMahon in 2013.WireImageSoon thereafter, his daughter, Stephanie, who had worked for WWE for more than two decades and was co-CEO alongside former CAA agent Nick Khan, resigned from the company. Khan was named the sole CEO after she left.
