WWE (WWE) is set to face a major loss. After serving for 18 years in his position, WWE Chief Operating Officer Brad Blum has reportedly put in his resignation papers roughly a month after he was named in Vince McMahon’s sex trafficking lawsuit, according to a new report from PWInsider.
The lawsuit was filed on Jan. 25 by former WWE employee Janel Grant. It accuses McMahon and former wrestler John Laurinaitis of sexual misconduct. McMahon is specifically being accused of trafficking Grant and subjecting her to “acts of extreme cruelty and degradation.”
Related: New names have been revealed in Vince McMahon’s sex trafficking lawsuit
In March, Blum was identified (and confirmed by Grant’s lawyer) as one of the four corporate officers mentioned in the lawsuit who were allegedly aware of, or played a role in, McMahon’s alleged inappropriate behavior and relationship with Grant.
Blum was revealed to be “Corporate Officer No. 2” in the lawsuit. He is being accused of meeting with Grant in 2019 at WWE Headquarters to help her find a job at the company, at the request of McMahon himself. When Blum interviewed her, he allegedly “hardly asked any questions.”
The lawsuit also claims that Blum gave McMahon the heads-up about rumors that were gaining steam within the company about McMahon’s alleged inappropriate relationship with Grant. In an attempt to calm rising suspicions and to not “put a target” on Grant’s back, Blum allegedly assigned her to the position of director of operations, which required her to report to Laurinaitis directly. Through this position, Grant alleges that “forcible touching and overtly sexual behaviors became part of daily life” when Laurinaitis was in the office.
After McMahon’s wife allegedly found out about the nature of his relationship with Grant, McMahon allegedly pushed Grant to resign from WWE and to sign an NDA to avoid a divorce from his wife and “reputational harm.” Blum allegedly was the person that drafted a “to-do list” for Grant that would effectuate the NDA between her and McMahon.
McMahon has labeled Grant’s allegations in the lawsuit as “salacious, false and defamatory,” and is fighting to resolve the dispute through arbitration rather than litigation.
Over the past few months, the lawsuit and other sexual misconduct allegations against McMahon have had a domino effect on WWE operations. In June 2023, a year after McMahon was accused of paying $12 million in hush money to four women to keep allegations of sexual misconduct and infidelity quiet, WWE updated its policy on romantic relationships at the company.
The new policy states that “WWE strongly discourages consensual relationships involving any WWE Board Member, or executive team member,” and that there will be “possible negative consequences” if the policy is violated.
Shortly after Grant filed her lawsuit against McMahon in January, McMahon resigned from the board of directors of WWE’s parent company TKO days after it was filed, seemingly wiping his hands clean of any involvement at WWE.
The wrestling company also ushered in a “new era” at WrestleMania 40 last month, which marked the first WrestleMania without any influence from McMahon.
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