On October 23, DiCello Levitt and Murphy, Falcon & Murphy law firm filed a lawsuit against WWE, Vince McMahon, Linda McMahon, and TKO Group Holdings on behalf of five former WWE ring boys.
The suit alleged that the underaged ring boys were groomed, exploited, and sexually abused by former ringside announcer and ring crew chief Melvin Phillips Jr. It was also noted in the lawsuit that McMahon was fully aware of Phillips’ inappropriate behavior.
Jessica Rosenberg, an attorney for Vince McMahon, issued the following statement regarding the lawsuit:
“More than 30 years ago, the columnist Phil Mushnick tried to make headlines with these same false claims. Those allegations were never proven and ultimately became the subject of a defamation lawsuit against Mr. Mushnick.
The negligence claims against Mr. McMahon that were asserted today rely on these same absurd, defamatory and utterly meritless statements by Mr. Mushnick. We will vigorously defend Mr. McMahon and are confident the court will find that these claims are untrue and unfounded.”