Rita Marie Chatterton is speaking out about the current allegations facing Vince McMahon.
Vince McMahon is currently being investigated by the WWE board of directors for a $3 million settlement McMahon paid to a former WWE employee, with whom he had a sexual relationship. In the initial story, first reported by The Wall Street Journal, it is stated that the person was hired by WWE as a paralegal and was later promoted to work with John Laurinaitis and along with that promotion, she was given a 100% pay increase.
In the wake of this investigation, 1992 allegations from former WWE referee Rita Marie (Rita Chatterton) claiming that McMahon sexually assaulted her in 1986, have resurfaced.
In a new story from the New York Magazine, former WWE enhancement talent, Leonard Inzitari, better known as Mario Mancini, has come forward to corroborate her story, revealing that he told her to stay away from McMahon.
“He’s dug himself such a deep hole that I’m just tired of it. I can’t do it anymore,” the former wrestler tells New York Magazine regarding McMahon.
Rita was also interviewed for the piece. Much like when she initially came forward in 1992, Chatterton spoke about being under the belief that a full-time contract worth half a million dollars was promised to her by McMahon and as such, she left a job at Frito-Lay in expectation of forthcoming notoriety in the world of wrestling. However, she does say that McMahon told her not to become involved with any of the wrestlers
“I talked to McMahon,” Chatterton recalls, “and he said I had a half-million-dollar contract coming my way anyway … I was pretty confident it would happen. So I left Frito-Lay.”
“That was one of those jobs with a 401(k),” Inzitari added. “You could retire after putting in your years at Frito-Lay. But she dumped it all because Vince said she’d be on the cover of Time.”
Rita declined to recount the details of the alleged July 1986 incident for this piece, but she previously went into greater detail on Geraldo Rivera’s talk show back in 1992.
I was forced into oral sex with Vince McMahon. When I couldn’t complete his desires, he got really angry, started ripping off my jeans, pulled me on top of him, and told me again that, if I wanted a half-a-million-dollar-a-year contract, that I had to satisfy him. He could make me or break me, and if I didn’t satisfy him, I was black-balled, that was it, I was done.
Rita goes on to explain that McMahon told her after the alleged incident that she had just gotten involved with one of the wrestlers, as he told her not to.
“One of the things that sticks with me, and always will,” Chatterton told New York Magazine’s Abraham Riesman, “was, after he got done doing his business, he looked at me and said, ‘Remember when I told you not to mess with any of the wrestlers? Well, you just did.’”
Rita and McMahon's final face-to-face interaction was at the memorial service for Andre the Giant, where Rita says that Vince McMahon attempted to introduce himself to her, as though he didn't know who she was.
“Vince walked up to me,” Chatterton recalls, “and said, ‘It’s nice to meet you.’ He knew exactly who I was,” she adds. “I said, ‘Nice to meet me?’ I told him to go fuck himself and walked away.”
Regarding the allegations currently facing McMahon, Rita says that she's not expecting Vince the face the consequences of what allegedly happened between them, but she does believe that there are more who may come forward.
“He’s not gonna pay for what he did to me,” she says. “Now this girl’s come forward, and I’m sure others will come forward. Because we’re not the only two. There’s not a doubt in my mind about that.
“As far as wrestling goes, I guess I’m the first in a lot of things,” she added. “As far as I know, I’m the first to come out with the whole issue of what a scumbag he is.”
Vince voluntarily stepped down from his position as CEO, with his daughter, Stephanie McMahon, taking the role of interim CEO and chairwoman. McMahon still remains in charge of WWE creative.
As for John Laurinaitis, he has been placed on administrative leave, pending the investigation’s conclusion, and has been replaced in the interim by Bruce Prichard. Learn more here.
If you or someone you know has been sexually assaulted, there are many resources available to help. You can contact RAINN’s National Helpline at 1-800-656-HOPE (4673).
