Vince McMahon, a longtime World Wrestling Entertainment executive who led the professional struggle from a secondary curiosity to a dominant phenomenon, has resigned as chairman and CEO while the company’s board investigates allegations of misconduct against him, the company said Friday.
Stephanie McMahon, her daughter, will take over as interim CEO and president, the company said in a statement. Mr. McMahon will continue to be involved with WWE’s creative content and “remains committed to cooperating with the ongoing review,” the company said.
“I have committed my full cooperation to the Special Committee’s investigation and will do my utmost to support the investigation,” McMahon said in a statement. “I am also committed to accepting the findings and the outcome of the investigation, whatever they may be.”
On Wednesday, The Wall Street Journal reported that Mr. McMahon agreed to pay a $ 3 million secret settlement to an employee with whom he was said to have had a relationship, and who the board had been investigating since April. The investigation uncovered other confidentiality agreements involving allegations of misconduct by Mr. McMahon, The Journal reported.
A lawyer for Mr. McMahon told The Journal that the employee had not made any harassment claims against Mr. McMahon and who used personal funds to pay the settlement.
Far from an anonymous executive, Mr. McMahon is among the most recognizable faces in professional wrestling, adopting a boastful public figure who is often at the center of the action on screen. Since taking over his father’s wrestling business in 1982, Mr. McMahon has presided over his rise to a cultural giant, with more than $ 1 billion in revenue in 2021. WWE programs are broadcast in 30 languages and are distributed through NBCUniversal and Fox Sports, among others.
The company said it had hired an independent legal adviser to conduct the investigation and would also work with an independent organization to review the company’s compliance program, human resources function and general culture.
Mr. McMahon will appear on “Friday Night SmackDown” on Fox at 8:00 p.m. Eastern time, the company said on Twitter.