Former WWE writers are speaking up about their experience working for the occasionally toxic culture the company under Vince McMahon represented. Women who worked in the writer’s room are also speaking out, noting they felt discomfort while working for the company.
The Rolling Stone recently published a story with interviews from multiple former WWE writers, many of whom remained anonymous. One writer said that, as a woman, she did not feel comfortable working for WWE.
Former writer Michael Leonardi did come forward and claimed he was let go after making a change to a 2016 Martin Luther King Jr. Day Raw skit where Neville was to reference King’s famous “I have a dream” speech. He allegedly didn’t want to say the line so R-Truth was given it instead with Leonardi’s boss Dave Kapoor stated he approved it. leading to him ripping into Leonardi who was eventually firing for being “not fit for the role.”
“Scores of writers could share tales of what an enjoyable, creative and freewheeling environment the WWE writers rooms were. This handful of (obviously disgruntled) individuals aren’t representative in any way of the consensus — or of the truth,” McMahon’s team stated in a statement.
The team noted that they denied Leonardi’s accounting of the incident. They stated, “The spokesperson acknowledged that McMahon had “an extremely hands-on approach” with WWE scripts. It was added, “That’s why the idea of him suggesting or approving the use of a famous Martin Luther King, Jr. quote for a punchline to be used by a white British character is so ridiculous. It simply didn’t happen.”
Most former writers who spoke to the media outlet were with WWE from 2016 to 2022, with tenures between four months and five years. During that time period, they experienced what they considered to be a hostile environment.
“The writer adds that there was something about McMahon’s changing directives that felt almost sadistic: “I think Vince enjoyed the manipulation. He liked changing things. He liked keeping people on their toes. I genuinely felt like, this isn’t to benefit the show or the storyline, Vince really just enjoys making people squirm.”
In January 2024, McMahon resigned from all his roles within TKO, including executive chairman and member of the TKO Board of Directors, following a lawsuit that included horrific allegations former WWE employee Janel Grant made against himself, WWE, and John Laurinaitis.
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