Supposed WWE employee’s COVID-19 concerns read at Florida county meeting

This story was updated at 3:10 PM Eastern.

At a meeting of the Orange County (FL) Board of County Commissioners Tuesday morning, a comment submitted by what was said to be a WWE employee raised concerns about the company continuing to run despite the coronavirus pandemic.

Planning administrator Eric Raasch read the comment from “John” who said that his employer World Wrestling Entertainment “is forcing me to to work the TV tapings for its weekly shows despite stay at home orders for coronavirus. I am unable to speak out as I need this job and I know I will be fired if I approach my higher ups. Despite sanitary precautions, we cannot maintain social distancing and are have to touch other people. I request the government to shut down these tapings and enforce the stay at home order so my colleagues and I can follow social distancing rules without fear of repercussions of losing our jobs.”

At Tuesday’s Orange County Board of County Commissioners meeting, a #WWE employee named “John” submitted public comment they’re being “forced to work” TV tapings despite stay at home orders. Says he’s unable to speak out and feels he will be fired if he approaches his higher-ups. pic.twitter.com/UJTvX1RGc7

— Jon Alba (@JonAlba) April 21, 2020

It’s unclear what measures the county takes to ensure the comment is legitimate and not coming from an unverified source. 

In a statement sent to the Observer, WWE said the following:

“These accusations aren’t true. Employees know they can confidentially go to Human Resources, not the public. Notwithstanding the appropriate protocol, no one would be fired if they were uncomfortable with their surroundings. We’ve made accommodations for individuals upon request.”

WWE recently changed its approach on TV tapings for a second time, moving away from a weekly live format for Raw, SmackDown, and NXT, to a taping schedule that will cover them for weeks at a time before needing to restart the process all over again. All shows in recent weeks and for the foreseeable future are being taped at the Performance Center in Orlando, FL.