WWE’s Vince McMahon reportedly paid $12 million over 16 years to allegedly silence women from speaking about misconduct claims

New details have emerged about alleged hush money payments that WWE’s Vince McMahon reportedly made to silence women.

The former CEO of WWE allegedly paid over $12 million to four women with ties to the company over a 16-year period as part of nondisclosure agreements to keep them quiet about their sexual relationships, and to stymie sexual-misconduct claims against him, The Wall Street Journal reported on Friday.

The Journal reported that McMahon allegedly:

The Journal also reported that the board is also investigating an alleged relationship between that same former paralegal and John Laurinaitis, the head of talent relations, as well as a $1.5 million agreement between Laurinaitis and another former WWE employee who claimed misconduct against him.

WWE did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Insider, nor did an attorney for McMahon. A WWE spokesperson told the Journal that McMahon’s relationship with the former paralegal was consensual, and that it’s cooperating with the board’s investigation and takes the allegations seriously. 

WWE confirmed last month that a special committee of the board was investigating misconduct allegations against McMahon and Laurinaitis.

The company also said that McMahon had voluntarily stepped away from his role as CEO during the investigation, though he was still overseeing creative content. McMahon’s daughter and the company’s brand chief, Stephanie McMahon, stepped in as interim CEO.

McMahon had said in a statement that he “pledged my complete cooperation to the investigation” and that he would “accept the findings and outcome of the investigation, whatever they are.”