Warning: The following article highlighting comments by Shawn Michaels from today’s WWE NXT Vengeance Day media call contains sensitive subject matter that may not be appropriate for all readers.
This past week, horrifying details emerged from a lawsuit filed by former WWE employee Janel Grant against Vince McMahon, John Laurinitis, and the company overall. Grant claims that McMahon took advantage of her when she was in a vulnerable place in her life by offering a job in exchange for sexual favors. The relationship progressed to a point where she felt she was groomed and then sex trafficked to other WWE executives and stars. Laurinitis is named explicitly in the suit as someone who took advantage of Grant. McMahon has denied the allegations through his attorney.
On today’s WWE NXT Vengeance Day media call, I asked WWE’s Vice President of Talent Development Creative, Shawn Michaels, about allegations Brutus Beefcake made about him and Marty Jannetty. In an interview that has resurfaced in recent years, Beefcake alleged that The Rockers used the date rape drug Halcion on women before taking advantage of them.
“Look, I will say this as I’ve never, you know, shied away from the stupid stuff I did in the past,” he responded. “If you go back and ask Brutus Beefcake he’ll tell you, one, never seen any of that actually happen. Again, wrestling stories. He’s also retracted it after saying it. I can say this. I’ve had a lot of struggles in my life. And I don’t know how to say this without sounding, I don’t know, shameful, but being with a lady was not something Shawn Michaels had a difficult time doing.
“I’ve never been in a situation where that was not consensual or in any way, shape or form. I’ve never taken advantage of someone in that respect. Those things are done for two reasons, and I’ve had a lot of counseling in my lifetime, and the reason you do that stuff is because you dislike women or you have power issues. Shawn Michaels did not have those. He had insecurity issues, and he had problems feeling like he wasn’t enough.
“That’s why you go to drugs and downers. The other stuff is built on power and disrespect for women, which is something I’ve never had. So, any accusations against me as far as nonconsensual time with a woman simply are not true. And that’s why they’ve never come up in anything other than, and I don’t mean it to be mean to you guys, but it’s never come up in anything other than wrestling stories. And, you know, I don’t know what to say; back in the day, it was dirt sheets. And those things start from guys spinning a lot of stories that were not true.”
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