TRIGGER WARNING
New information regarding past allegations made by Ashley Massaro.
After Ashley Massaro died in May 2019, an affidavit was made public where she alleged WWE covered up that she was sexually assaulted while on a military base in 2007.
At the time, WWE published the following statement regarding the allegations:
At no time was Vince McMahon or the management of WWE ever informed by Ashley Massaro or anybody else that she had been sexually assaulted, drugged, raped or sodomized by a military doctor with a nurse standing guard while on a goodwill tour in 2007 to U.S. military bases in Kuwait. In fact, if she ever articulated such a claim to WWE, we would have reported it immediately to the Base Commander.
At no time was there ever a meeting with Vince McMahon, Kevin Dunn, John Laurinaitis or other company executives in which she told them of such a claim and was instructed to keep it quiet.
In a new report from Tim Marchman of VICE, the lawyer for John Laurinaitis objected to the use of the term “cover-up,” but confirmed that Laurinaitis knew about the allegations and said “most upper level management” was aware.
This would contradict WWE's statement in 2019.
“Any allegations that Mr. Laurinaitus helped to cover up an alleged rape allegation is an outright lie,” wrote Laurinaitis’ lawyer, Edward Brennan, in response to questions about Massaro’s allegations. “Johnny, like most upper level management at sometime became aware of the allegations and ensured all proper WWE protocols were followed, including privacy for the alleged victim. We object to the use of the term cover up as no such plan or plot ever took place to hide or assist in the alleged rape.”
In the affidavit, Massaro alleged that she was injected with a paralyzing drug and raped by someone representing himself as a U.S. Army doctor while on tour with WWE in Kuwait. Massaro also alleged that top executives at the company, including McMahon and Laurinaitis, told her not to talk about the incident and agreed to not talk about it themselves, in part to preserve the company’s relationship with the military.
“He told me not to let one bad experience ruin the good work they were doing,” Massaro said of McMahon in the affidavit.
Konstantine Kyros, who represented Ashley Massaro and other former wrestlers in a concussion lawsuit against WWE, spoke about the allegations and WWE's toxic culture. You can find his comments by clicking here.
Victim Resources:
National Sexual Assault Hotline
Hours: Available 24 hours
1-800-656-4673
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