WWE executive chairman Vince McMahon has settled with a former referee who accused him of raping her during the 1980s.
McMahon, 77, returned as the head of the company last week having previously stepped down after it was revealed he had paid $US19.6 million in nondisclosure agreements to at least four ex-WWE employees, which prohibited them talking about their relationship with McMahon and any allegations of sexual misconduct.
Now the Wall Street Journal reports McMahon in December reached a confidential settlement with Rita Chatterton, the first woman referee in WWE.
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Chatterton was seeking $US11.75 million after alleging McMahon raped her in a limousine in 1986, but the settlement amount was lower than that figure. The WSJ reported it was a “multimillion dollar” figure.
“Mr. McMahon denies and always has denied raping Ms. Chatterton. And he settled the case solely to avoid the cost of litigation,” McMahon’s long-time lawyer Jerry McDevitt said.
The legal demand was possible because the state of New York opened a one-year window which has allowed victims of sex crimes to file lawsuits which would otherwise be outside of the statue of limitations.
Chatterton first went public with the allegation in 1992, which was backed up by at least one former wrestler, but the statue of limitations had already run out.
McMahon has said he and Chatterton had a relationship but it was consensual. In 1993, he sued her claiming the rape accusation was false, but withdrew it ahead of his infamous 1994 steroid trial.
