Vince McMahon 'agrees settlement' with WWE referee who accused him of rape

20 January 2023 , 11:09

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Vince McMahon has spent over 40 years as the largest shareholder of WWE (Image: Getty Images)

Wrestling mogul Vince McMahon has reportedly agreed a settlement with a former WWE referee who accused him of rape.

The Wall Street Journal has reported that the 77-year-old has paid a multi-million dollar sum to Rita Chatterton. The settled lawsuit relates to an accusation of rape in 1986. Jerry McDevitt, a lawyer for McMahon, said he continues to maintain his innocence with the case instead settled to avoid a public legal case.

“Mr. McMahon denies and always has denied raping Ms. Chatterton," Mr McDevitt told the Journal. "And he settled the case solely to avoid the cost of litigation."

The Journal had claimed that Chatterton had demanded £9.51million in damages over the alleged rape.

But an unnamed source told the newspaper that the former referee had “agreed a lesser amount in the millions of dollars”. The exact amount of the settlement is unclear but is believed to contain a lump sum upfront and annual instalments.

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The Journal reported they approached Chatterton for comment who referred to her lawyer, but they declined to speak on the matter.

Mirror Sport has contacted WWE for comment.

Last year the WWE concluded its £18million probe into alleged misconduct against McMahon - who spent over 40 years at the head of the WWE after purchasing shares from his father, Vincent J. McMahon, in 1982.

It was previously alleged by The Wall Street Journal that McMahon had paid out more than $20m (£17.9m) to a number of women who had been affiliated with the company over claims of misconduct. The WWE announced that they would investigate the matter of the allegations, which has now closed.

The WWE concluded its £18million probe into alleged misconduct against Vince McMahon last year (WWE)

A statement from the WWE read: "The Special Committee investigation is now complete and the Special Committee has been disbanded. Management is working with the Board of Directors to implement the recommendations of the Special Committee related to the investigation."

Last month it was reported that biggest shareholder McMahon was set to 'sell' his shares to Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund. This came after the news that his daughter Stephanie McMahon had resigned as chief executive.

McMahon had retired last year with his daughter and Nick Khan taking over as co-CEO's with son-in-law Paul Levesque (wrestling name Triple H) taking over day-to-day duties as chief content officer.

After his daughter's resignation and amid the takeover rumours, McMahon has returned to the company's board as a position of executive chair and is leading a process of 'strategic alternatives'.

Benjamin Goddard