The subject of Netflix’s new documentary series Mr. McMahon made his feelings on it known yesterday (Sept. 23). In a rare public statement, Vince McMahon wrote that he’s seen “an early partial cut” of the show, calling it “deceptive” and “misleading”. In particular, McMahon accused Mr. McMahon’s creators of “conflating” the character he played on WWE television to his “true self”, and using Janel Grant’s sex trafficking lawsuit to make that argument.
Apparently, McMahon felt that way even before Grant filed suit against him, John Laurinaitis & WWE this past January. Matthew Belloni of Puck reports that two sources told him that McMahon tried to purchase the docuseries from Netflix prior to his resignation from WWE parent company TKO. In his “What I’m Hearing” newsletter, Belloni writes:
Vince also had Endeavor C.E.O. Ari Emanuel, his new partner in TKO, chime in on his behalf, also voicing concern about the doc’s treatment of Vince’s alter ego, ‘Mr. McMahon,’ which ended up being the title of the doc.
Netflix refused to let the project go, and then this past January, the worse McMahon scandal broke, when a former employee sued alleging terrible abuse.
Netflix declined to comment on Belloni’s report. The streamer will enter into a major partnership with WWE this upcoming January to, among other things, become the new home of WWE’s Monday night flagship Raw.
Regarding “the worse McMahon scandal” Belloni refers to, Grant’s attorney Ann Callis previously spoke about the series and expressed their hope that it will shine a spotlight on McMahon’s alleged abuses while also portraying Grant as a survivor of those abuses. Via Kendra Barkoff Lamy of the public relations firm her team recently hired specifically for Mr. McMahon’s release, Callis also issued her own statement in response to McMahon’s. She specifically took issue with him referring to his relationship with her client as “an affair I ended”:
Vince McMahon physically and emotionally abused, sexually assaulted and human trafficked Janel Grant for more than two years. Calling his horrific and criminal behavior “an affair” is delusional and nothing more than a sad attempt to save his shredded reputation. Although Ms. Grant has not seen the “Mr. McMahon” docuseries, we hope it shines a bright light on his abhorrent and criminal actions by accurately portraying the realities of his abusive and exploitative behavior.
Ms. Grant will no longer be silenced by McMahon. Her story, though deeply troubling and exceptionally painful, is one that can help other abuse survivors find their voices. We seek to hold McMahon, John Laurinaitis and WWE accountable and to give Ms. Grant her day in court.
You’ll be able to make your own judgment about Netflix’s Mr. McMahon when all six episodes are released tomorrow.