WWE's Vince McMahon used NDAs to stifle accusations of sexual misconduct while paying four women a total of $12 million.
The CEO of WWE, Vince McMahon, reportedly paid four women a combined amount of more than $12 million over a
16-year span
to bury "allegations of sexual misbehaviour and infidelity,"according to a Wall Street Journal article from Friday.
The four women who worked for McMahon at WWE were prohibited from suing him or disclosing their interactions with him in public
under the non-disclosure agreements they signed. The Wall Street Journal reviewed documents and consulted sources who knew about the deal.
After The Journal earlier reported that the board was looking into a secret $3 million payment to pay to an employee with whom he allegedly had an affair,
McMahon resigned as the company's chairman and chief executive officer on June 17. His daughter Stephanie McMahon was chosen to serve as acting CEO.
The former wrestler who left the organisation in 2005 when McMahon decided not to renew her contract received the greatest payment of $7.5 million.
She refused additional sexual encounters after McMahon forced oral sex, the Journal reported.
The Journal claims that McMahon reached a $1 million settlement with a former manager in 2006 as a result of an alleged sexual encounter that she was told to stay quiet about.
The Journal reports that McMahon harassed the woman at work and sent her unwelcome nude photographs; another former WWE contractor earned around $1 million.
Investors have been informed by WWE that the organization's future success depends on McMahon's role as CEO.
He also retains the bulk of the voting power in the corporation, according to securities records.