Former WCW and WWE star Lance Storm has criticized Vince McMahon for his getting caught up in a “highly dangerous” scandal.
McMahon is still dominating industry news after it was reported that the 76-year-old is the subject of an investigation by WWE’s board of directors. It’s alleged that McMahon paid a former employee $3 million in 2019, so she would keep quiet about an affair they had.
McMahon is said to have doubled the employee’s $100,000 salary after they became intimate. He is also accused of passing her on to John Laurinaitis, while it’s believed that other reports of misconduct are being investigated.
Vince has voluntarily stepped down as WWE CEO and Chairman, handing the reins to his daughter, Stephanie McMahon. Laurinaitis has taken administrative leave from his post as the company’s head of talent relations.
Apart from the investigation, WWE might be facing class-action lawsuits, with multiple law firms reportedly exploring the possibility as investors have lost money in the wake of the revelations due to WWE's stock price falling.
Storm Watch
Speaking on a recent episode of the Wrestling Observer’s Figure Four Daily, Storm was highly critical of McMahon, who he says should have known better especially given the Me Too movement.
“Wasn’t it like 2019 when she was transferred to Johnny Ace’s department? When Me Too hit however many years ago…and so many people were coming forward and saying things and there was a lot of people in the business that were wondering how hard the wrestling business would be hit there were a lot of people in the wrestling business that were hit.” he said in quotes transcribed by WrestlingNews.co. “How did you not learn from that? That this conduct is not acceptable, highly dangerous, and completely inappropriate.”
Men In Power Shouldn’t Be Dating Subordinates
Storm added that McMahon should have never put the employee in such a position as she might have given into his advances because she didn’t want to risk losing her job.
“And this is the whole thing that came with the Harvey Weinstein and all the other stuff that men in power can’t/shouldn’t be dating or asking out subordinates,” he continued. “Here’s this woman who gets a job for $100,000. And it’s like, maybe it’s the best job she’s had or the highest paying job or again, if you’re living in Connecticut, New York, maybe it’s just enough to make her damn rent.
“And even if she [thinks] ‘man Vince is cute, I wouldn’t mind going out to dinner with him’ and he asked her for dinner it’s like as that person in power above your subordinate even asking her out for dinner is putting her in a position where she goes, ‘I should probably say, ‘Yeah, I don’t want to make him mad and get heat with the boss and risk my job.’ Even if Vince is completely going to be noble in this…she doesn’t know that. And it’s why writers shouldn’t date talent. People in creative shouldn’t date talent. Producers shouldn’t date talent, trainers shouldn’t date talent.”
McMahon has said he’s willing to accept whatever the board decides as a consequence for his actions. Stephanie is reported to have addressed the saga during a company meeting this week.
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