Lawyer: Janel Grant coerced into writing 2021 ‘love letter’ to Vince McMahon

The lawyer representing Janel Grant says Grant was coerced into writing a “love letter” to Vince McMahon in late-2021. 

The New York Post published an article on Monday containing a lengthy email Grant wrote to McMahon on December 24, 2021, in which she professes her love for WWE’s former executive chairman.

Grant’s lawyer Ann Callis said McMahon instructed Grant to write the letter which was obtained from Grant’s laptop as part of WWE’s investigation into the allegations against McMahon. It is expected to appear in future court filings as Grant’s lawsuit against McMahon and WWE proceeds. 

“Frankly, it’s pretty disgusting that Vince’s weeks-late attempt to defend his horrendous behavior — behavior he claims to this day never happened — is to try to showcase letters that Vince himself coerced her to write,” Callis said to the Post.

“His psychological torture of her continues — as is typical of abusive predators who respond to women speaking out with increased threats. While Janel isn’t a stranger to his intimidation tactics, this is a new low even for him.” 

Callis also noted that much of Grant’s letter to McMahon was plagiarized. For instance, Grant wrote to McMahon, “I feel understood, accepted, loved and appreciated for who I am at my core. You see my heart. You see my soul. There are few people who know the secret of making a heaven here on earth. You are one of those rare people” in lines taken verbatim from the 1947 film “The Bishop’s Wife.” Another part of the letter was taken from a 2021 GQ interview with Megan Fox and Machine Gun Kelly. 

McMahon’s lawyer Jessica Taub Rosenberg of Kasowitz Benson Torres (the same firm that represented MLW in its 2023 antitrust lawsuit against WWE) contends the email was written of Grant’s own free will. 

“No one coerced Ms. Grant to write that letter. She wrote it of her own accord. The fact that the letter shows it was the 24th draft speaks volumes,” Rosenberg said.

“Nowhere in her voluminous complaint, that is replete with fabrications, does she mention being coerced into such behavior. The language of the letter is consistent with other communications she made to Mr. McMahon over the course of their consensual relationship,” Rosenberg added.

The full 2200 word email can be read on the NY Post website here.