In the latest in a long tradition of controversy, WWE and some of its top executives are the targets of a new lawsuit from a dismissed former writer for the sports entertainment company, with multiple charges ranging from discrimination to wrongful termination on the table.
Despite diversifying into a myriad lot of business ventures in entertainment and sports, the WWE is first and foremost the largest and most popular professional wrestling company in the world, a title that has been undisputed since the early 2000s, when the company absorbed its only real competition in World Championship Wrestling and Extreme Championship Wrestling under the control of owner Vincent Kennedy McMahon, a figure so iconic and controversial that Blumhouse TV partnered with the WWE to produce a scripted series about him centering around a court case from the '90s.
The company has never been far from some controversy or the other, with the last major incident leading to Vince McMahon officially retiring from the WWE in light of alleged sexual misconduct unearthed via massive payoffs to female talent. Recently, a lawsuit has been filed against the company, this time by Britney Abrahams, a former writing team member for the WWE's Monday Night RAW and Friday Night Smackdown! Programs. Abrahams alleges that she was fired as retaliation for opposing what she describes as ‘offensively racist and stereotypical jargon’ related explicitly to POC stars like Apollo Crews and Bianca Belair.
Abrahams alleges that she raised several objections to these incidents but went unheeded, speculating that these complaints were the valid reason behind her recent termination from the company. The actual stated reason for her dismissal was taking home company property, specifically a Wrestlemania-branded chair from the event venue. While this would usually be fair grounds for dismissal, Abrahams insists that this is a standard practice among staff and goes unremarked when her white male counterparts do it. Her lawsuit, which aims at curbing further racially insensitive content, reinstating her position, and compensating her for the wrongful treatment she alleges, targets both the WWE itself and many top executives, including Vince McMahon, who recently reinstated himself to the WWE Board of Directors in time for this latest controversy.
This move was unpopular, with many in the company not keen on McMahon's WWE return as more accusations mounted against him. This latest one also falls on him, as McMahon is well known for having a heavy hand in the writing room and the overall creative process, in addition to previously dabbling in racially incentive on-angles and antics. It is worth noting that the WWE Universe is often first in line to call out such things, but there has been virtually no mention of any significant similar incident since 2020 when Abrahams joined the writing team. This seems to clash with her assertion that all her complaints were ignored and racially insensitive material made it onto WWE programming.
Despite the negative press and controversy that often follows such filings, the WWE will likely keep moving as it always has, with the latest exciting announcement to merge the WWE with the UFC shortly serving as a guarantee of even more growth for the business. Whether Abrahams can prove her claims satisfactory in court and receive the desired compensation remains to be seen.
Source: Bloomberg Law