Janel Grant's Lawyer Accuses Vince McMahon Of Victim Shaming

The release of a "love letter" to Vince McMahon has been called an intimidation tactic.

by Andrew Pollard
Vince McMahon
TKO

Content warning; discussion of alleged sexual assault

With former WWE employee Janel Grant having launched a lawsuit earlier this year alleging sexual, physical, and emotional abuse by Vince McMahon and John Laurinaitis, this week saw a "love letter" surface from Ms. Grant to McMahon; a "love letter" that Janel's lawyer Ann Callis said her client was coerced into typing.

Speaking to POST Wrestling's John Pollock and Wrestlenomics' Brandon Thurston, Callis has labeled the release of this letter - which was sent to McMahon via email on 24 December 2021 and can be viewed in full at The New York Post - as an intimidation tactic and an attempt at victim shaming.

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As Ann Callis stated:

"It was a tactic to intimidate Janel and victim shame her."

Callis also noted how victims are often pressured by their abusers to write such letters, highlighting the sex trafficking cases of R Kelly, Jeffrey Epstein, and Keith Raniere as examples

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While Vince McMahon's lawyers deny Ms. Grant was coerced into writing this, using the fact that the 24 drafts it took to write this letter is something that somebody wouldn't be coerced into doing, Ann Callis disputes this:

"For Vince McMahon, it's further proof of misconduct. Redoing and editing the letter - it wasn't love, it was fear of repercussions. She was, frankly, an emotional prisoner and was asked to [write a love letter] by Vince McMahon. This isn't a new thing, like, 'Gotcha!'. It happens when people are sex trafficked."

You can find the full interview with Ann Callis at around the 4:30 mark of the below video:

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Once described as the Swiss Army Knife of WhatCulture, Andrew can usually be found writing, editing, or presenting on a wide range of topics. As a lifelong wrestling fan, horror obsessive, and comic book nerd, he's been covering those topics professionally as far back as 2010. In addition to his current WhatCulture role of Senior Content Producer, Andrew previously spent nearly a decade as Online Editor and Lead Writer for the world's longest-running genre publication, Starburst Magazine, and his work has also been featured on BBC, TechRadar, Tom's Guide, WhatToWatch, Sportkskeeda, and various other outlets, in addition to being a Rotten Tomatoes-approved film critic. Between his main dayjob, his role as the lead panel host of Wales Comic Con, and his gig as a pre-match host for Wrexham AFC games, Andrew has also carried out a hugely varied amount of interviews, from the likes of Robert Englund, Kane Hodder, Adrienne Barbeau, Rob Zombie, Katharine Isabelle, Leigh Whannell, Bruce Campbell, and Tony Todd, to Kevin Smith, Ron Perlman, Elijah Wood, Giancarlo Esposito, Simon Pegg, Charlie Cox, the Russo Brothers, and Brian Blessed, to Kevin Conroy, Paul Dini, Tara Strong, Will Friedle, Burt Ward, Andrea Romano, Frank Miller, and Rob Liefeld, to Bret Hart, Sting, Mick Foley, Ricky Starks, Jamie Hayer, Britt Baker, Eric Bischoff, and William Regal, to Mickey Thomas, Joey Jones, Phil Parkinson, Brian Flynn, Denis Smith, Gary Bennett, Karl Connolly, and Bryan Robson - and that's just the tip of an ever-expanding iceberg.