Janel Grant: Nick Khan Knew of McMahon Relationship, Lesnar Named

In a declaration filed in Connecticut District Court on Wednesday, Janel Grant alleged current World Wrestling Entertainment president and TKO board member Nick Khan knew of her relationship with Vince McMahon soon after he joined the company in August 2020.

Grant sued Vince McMahon and WWE in January 2024, accusing McMahon of sexual assault and sex trafficking in a complaint that was amended in early 2025.

Grant's claim against Khan was one of several new allegations made in the case. She also laid out the timeline of when she signed the non-disclosure agreement that has been a center-point of the civil suit.

Attorneys for McMahon and WWE want Grant to adhere to an arbitration hearing, which was a clause in the NDA. Grant's attorneys say the clause violates federal law, among other issues.

According to the 40-page declaration, filed as part of her opposition to a motion for arbitration, Grant was forced by McMahon to endure relationships with several members of WWE talent.

Khan was mentioned previously in Grant's original complaint, filed in January 2024, and her amended complaint last year, which alleged McMahon assigned Khan with designing an office for her and former WWE talent relations head John Laurinaitis. The designs allegedly allowed McMahon and Laurinaitis to enter Grant's office with a passcode.

Grant's declaration alleged she was assaulted multiple times by Laurinaitis and McMahon. Laurinaitis, originally a defendant in the case, flipped last summer and provided evidence to the plaintiff and was expected to be a witness for Grant if the case goes to trial.

The declaration included gruesome details concerning new and past allegations:

• Former WWE executive Brad Blum became aware of the incident after meeting Grant.
• McMahon and Blum were confronted about Grant by former WWE General Counsel Brad Nurse. Grant said McMahon had indicated Nurse was fired because of his knowledge of their relationship.
• McMahon's requests for Grant to engage Brock Lesnar and other WWE talent didn't stop after Grant signed a non-disclosure agreement on Jan. 28, 2022, but continued.
• Grant tried committing suicide after she was "raped" by McMahon and Laurinaitis.
• The physical toll of the abuse against Grant led to her blacking out several times. She doesn't recall her first alleged assault by McMahon, stating she blacked out.
• McMahon became angry with Grant's attorney several times when he began questioning aspects of the NDA. She said she faced "backlash" from Vince when she did share information with her attorney, which he told her not to do.
• McMahon told Grant that Laurinaitis had previously signed an NDA due to an issue between him and a WWE talent. McMahon said Laurinaitis was demoted and the NDA cost WWE $1 million.
• Lesnar had requested Grant to travel to Chicago to meet with him for a sexual encounter.
• Lesnar became outraged when he learned Grant wasn't working in the legal department (which she did previously), but working in talent relations. Grant said his outrage was due to previous issues he had with the department and Laurinaitis.
• McMahon said that private videos and photos she had sent to him had likely been viewed by "thousands."
• Lesnar used the name "Polish Joe" as an alias in text messages to Grant.
• McMahon's efforts to connect Grant and Lesnar went from July 2021 to March 27, 2022, two months after she signed the NDA.

Khan was hired as WWE President and Chief Financial Officer in August 2020.

"In hindsight, I view Nick's arrival as the moment my life changed for the worse," Grant said in the declaration. "My fears about reporting the abuse were realized when I learned from Vince that he put the company's new president, essentially, his second in command, on notice of his ongoing sexual conduct with me.

"Nick never asked me whether the relationship was consensual. Instead, Nick also waited for Vince to finish engaging sexually with me during meetings."

In November 2022, Grant said Nurse was fired. She said 72 hours after his termination, McMahon flew from Florida to Connecticut to force Grant into sex in McMahon's office at WWE HQ. According to Grant, McMahon said the encounter in his office at the HQ was a "fantasy that became a reality."

Grant said WWE executive Brad Blum and Khan discussed the relationship with McMahon.

"He said they expressed concern and one questioned whether I could be trusted," Grant wrote. "Vince told me he provided them with assurances about my loyalty, character, that I would never do something to hurt WWE, and that I 'would sooner jump off the balcony than hurt anyone.' He told me that, with these assurances, Nick and Brad were ultimately supportive."

Grant said McMahon regularly told her she was a threat to him and WWE, once telling her, "Unfortunately, you appear to have my company over a barrel."

She said she tried resigning several times. After a brief transfer to the XFL office, Grant said she tried to stay rather than transfer back to WWE. When notifying McMahon of her suicide attempt, Grant said he only pushed her to continue meeting with Laurinaitis.

On Jan. 9, 2022, Grant said she met with McMahon at his apartment (they both lived in the same apartment building in Stamford). He again told Grant she was a threat to the company.

"Vince said that he could lose his power, marriage, and home in a way that would be a public nightmare for both of us and require him to involve (Jerry) McDevitt," Grant wrote. "Unless I came up with a solution for damage control."

Grant said McMahon had referenced McDevitt early in their relationship.

"Vince mentioned that he had an attorney, Jerry McDevitt, on speed dial who was the best at making problems, including people who become problems, go away," Grant wrote. "Vince told me he did not know the identity of the source leaking the information but expressed someone was trying to hurt him, which made me collateral damage."

Grant said she offered to resign "in response to a threat of imminent harm and in exchange for safety and protection." She said Vince believed "signed paperwork" would satisfy his wife, Linda McMahon, and lead her to "call off a divorce."

Grant was concerned with the digital material she had sent McMahon and the people he had shared it with.

"Vince would not answer who he shared my content with but rather said that thousands of men had probably seen it," Grant wrote. "Vince said that the compromising pornographic material, and letters he requested, were locked in his personal safe."

Grant said McMahon set rules for her resignation, which included her staying away from the office and continuing to see Colker for medical care.

Despite being a WWE employee, Grant said McMahon had circumvented human resources in her NDA and release from employment.

"Vince replied that no one would see it because these agreements do not go through the legal department," Grant wrote.

McMahon allegedly told Grant that the paperwork would be handled by K&L Gates, McDevitt's law firm, and it would be put in a "dusty drawer along with 'the others.'"

Grant said she couldn't sleep during this period and had texted McMahon about suicidal thoughts and severe depression she suffered. When McMahon brought up paying her to sign an NDA, she said she was "disgusted and enraged." She said she began developing rashes on her face and body due to the stress over the NDA.

"I had no desire to sign paperwork or receive any money, so I would have said anything to get him to stop badgering me about it," Grant wrote.

Grant said her concerns with the NDA centered on not being able to share what she had been through with anyone except McMahon.

She said she never met her attorney, who McMahon and McDevitt had called untrustworthy, which further isolated her.

According to the declaration, McMahon moved Grant's deadline to sign the NDA from Jan. 31 to Jan. 28. Grant said she continued to back out.

"Vince reacted with fury," Grant wrote. "We engaged in several calls during which he yelled at me and threatened that we would suffer serious harm if I did not sign the paperwork by 8 p.m., including public harm to him, his family and marriage, his empire, my reputation, and my safety. Life as I knew it would 'blow up' unless I signed the NDA, and I would be solely responsible for the consequences."

Grant said she signed the NDA on Jan. 28, just before 8 p.m., sending a copy of the signatory page to McMahon before sending it to her own attorney. She said she didn't know which version of the NDA she signed.

"At 8:42 p.m., my attorney emailed me explaining his concerns with the NDA and the negotiation process, including the fact that McDevitt had been unresponsive that day," Grant wrote. "Per Vince's instructions, I did not tell my attorney that I had already sent Vince a copy of the executed signature page.

"At 9:09 p.m., I texted Vince that I was scared about everything and begged him to call me. On that call, I cried that my life was now in his hands and begged him to let me be small and live a quiet life. I admitted to Vince that I was having suicidal thoughts and wanted to jump off my balcony."

Grant said she received a $1 million installment payment on Feb. 4. She said the same day she later shared with McMahon she was having suicidal thoughts. She said a week after the NDA was signed, she was assaulted by McMahon at his condo, and was left retching on the floor.

McMahon sent Grant a bouquet of flowers on Feb. 14, and encouraged her to meet with an unnamed WWE talent for a sexual encounter. Grant said she told Vince that she was confused about the scope of the NDA, particularly who she could talk to.

Representatives for Grant, WWE, McMahon and Laurinaitis were conttacted for comment about the allegations in the declaration. Parties hadn't responded by Friday morning.

Edward Brennan, an attorney for John Laurinaitis, sent a statement to Post Wrestling.

"My client has no need to comment on this salacious affidavit. Anyone can make allegations. Whether those allegations can withstand the harsh sunlight of cross-examination is another matter entirely. I note that after two-plus years of litigation, Mr. Laurinaitis remains the only party exonerated by an independent investigation commissioned by the WWE Board of Directors to review these matters and the only person dismissed, with prejudice, from this lawsuit. Those facts speak louder than any allegations made to buttress a suspect claim."

SEScoops reached out to representatives for Grant and asked what Laurinaitis's status was as a witness for the plaintiff in the case. A response hadn't been sent when the article was published.

According to Grant, McMahon had violated the NDA when he or WWE leaked her identity and details of their relationship to a member of the wrestling media. McMahon asserts Grant violated the NDA.

The arbitration hearing in the case is scheduled for June 16.