Vince McMahon has “voluntarily stepped back” as WWE CEO and chairman during a board investigation into alleged misconduct with a former female employee, the company said Friday.
McMahon allegedly paid a $3 million “hush” settlement to a paralegal to cover up their affair, The Wall Street Journal reported this week.
Stephanie McMahon, Vince’s daughter, will take over as interim CEO and chairwoman.
Vince McMahon will continue to work on WWE’s creative content amid the probe. He is “committed to cooperating with the review underway,” the company said.
John Laurinaitis, WWE’s head of talent relations, is also under investigation.
The WWE board received damning anonymous emails from a woman who said she was a friend of the employee, the WSJ reported. She claimed McMahon hired the woman as a paralegal and doubled her pay when they began to have sex. The email writer also accused McMahon, 76, of giving the employee to Laurinaitis “like a toy.”
WWE is behind the popular pro-wrestling shows “Raw” on USA and “SmackDown” on Fox.
McMahon has been married to Linda McMahon, the WWE co-founder, since 1966.
