John Laurinaitis files motion to join Vince McMahon in seeking arbitration in lawsuit

John Laurinaitis had originally been singing like a bird, but has changed his tune.

Days after Vince McMahon filed a motion to compel private arbitration in Janel Grant's lawsuit against himself, Laurinaitis, and WWE, Laurinaitis has joined his former boss and long-time friend in also seeking arbitration.

In a statement from Laurinaitis' legal representative, Edward Brennan, said his client has "has filed a Motion today fully joining in and adopting Vince McMahon's motion to compel arbitration.  Mr. Laurinaitis corroborates Mr. McMahon in publicly declaring that Ms. Grant’s allegations of sexual abuse and coercion in her Complaint are completely unfounded.  My client will fight these false allegations together with Mr. McMahon in the proper forum, arbitration.”

This is the complete opposite of statements that Brennan has previously made regarding the lawsuit. In February, he told VICE:

“Mr. Laurinaitis denies the allegations in the misguided complaint and will be vigorously defending these charges in Court, not the media. Like the Plaintiff, Mr. Laurinaitis is a victim in this case, not a predator. The truth will come out.”

Then in April, Brennan provided a statement to POST Wrestling and Wrestlenomics that read, “Judge [Ann] Callis [Grant's attorney] was a learned judge and is a skilled litigator. I anticipate she will ultimately see that Mr. Lauriniatis is, like her client, a victim in this case, and Judge Callis will do the right thing and dismiss my client from this lawsuit. In the event she does not, my client will clear his name and reputation in Court, not in the media.”

Laurinaitis has also added two more members to his counsel: Robert and Reese Mitchell from Mitchell and Sheehan Law. They are based in Statford, CT.

In Grant's lawsuit, she alleges that McMahon forced her to serve herself as "breakfast" to Laurinaitis before coming to work at WWE's offices. She also says that she was forced into threesomes with both men. The Wall Street Journal reported that 'McMahon and Laurinaitis forced themselves on her and took turns restraining her for the other, while saying “No means yes” and “Take it, (expletive).”' 

Last week, news came out that McMahon has hired Sitrick and Company. They are a PR firm that has worked with a variety of clients, but there are two that stick out the most: Harvey Weinstein and Bill Cosby. While they worked with them briefly, it should raise eyebrows at the very least. Weinstein and Cosby were both two of the most high-profile men in entertainment. Both were sentenced to jail for sexual assault.

Cosby's sentence was overturned in 2021 for a violation of his due process rights. Last week, one of Weinstein's convicitions was overturned in New York due to women who weren't part of the case being allowed to testify. However, prosecutors have said that they will retry him as soon as September. He is currently serving a sentence in L.A.

We're still very early in this process, especially if Grant is able to keep this from going to arbitration. McMahon and Laurinaitis will continue to use these tactics. They will continue to call Grant a liar and try to smear her name. McMahon will likely try to appear weak and frail in public to garner sympathy. Don't fall for the grift and remember that there are multiple women with NDAs because of decades of McMahon's behavior.