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WSJ: WWE’s Vince McMahon Paid $12M in Hush Money To Cover Up Sex Scandals_我的网站

一 |     这个夏天的周末夜晚，武林广场有点不一样：广场变身繁华大客厅——“音乐任意门”里歌声飞扬，“楼BA”赛场上灌篮高手激战正酣，夜市里的小生意忙碌红火……下班后，许多人在这里找到了舒适的生活“姿势”。这升腾的烟火气，既展现出城市夜生活的蓬勃活力，也彰显着城市治理的精细与温情。“音乐任意门” 普通人也能站上城市C位8月7日晚上7点半，“下班以后”乐队在武林广场准时开唱，带来的是赵雷歌曲专场。    Vincent Kennedy McMahon, the face most associated with American professional wrestling and who was until recently the CEO and Chairman of World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE), agreed to pay more than $12 million over 16 years to four different women who worked for or were contracted by WWE in an attempt to quiet allegations of sexual misconduct and infidelity.,That number includes the $3 million McMahon is said to have paid a former paralegal in late 2021 following a sexual relationship between the two. That incident led the WWE Board of Directors to investigate McMahon, who then stepped aside from his position as CEO and Chairman of the Board while his daughter, Stephanie McMahon, took over as interim CEO. That investigation was first reported on by the Wall Street Journal on June 17.,These new allegations, also revealed by the Wall Street Journal, include a former wrestler who alleged that Vince McMahon coerced her into giving him oral sex. After she refused further advances, she alleged that she was put in a less prominent position on the show and WWE then declined to renew her contract when it came up in 2005. In 2018, the wrestler and her lawyer approached McMahon and reached a $7.5 million settlement in exchange for her silence.,In the mid-2000s, McMahon was, as he is now, the head of creative in WWE and had the final say on how much TV and in-ring time wrestlers would receive. He would have also decided when she won or lost matches, essentially being in control of her career trajectory.,In another case, a WWE contractor had nude photos of McMahon that she alleged were sent unsolicited to her by the billionaire wrestling promoter. She also alleged, per people familiar with the situation, that he sexually harassed her on the job. According to the Journal, McMahon paid her $1 million to sign a non-disclosure agreement.,There is also a 2006 non-disclosure agreement with a $1 million payout to a former manager. She worked at the company for over a decade before McMahon initiated a sexual relationship, according to people familiar with the deal who spoke to the Journal.,It was previously reported that the WWE Board of Directors was investigating the case with the paralegal. Now, the Journal reports the case with the former wrestler is also being investigated by the board, along with allegations that former head of talent relations John Laurinaitis had a sexual relationship with the same paralegal McMahon did. It is not known if the other NDAs are being investigated.,The board is also reportedly investigating a 2012 $1.5 million nondisclosure agreement with Laurinaitis and an employee with whom he allegedly had a sexual relationship. The employee alleged she was demoted after ending the relationship.,Laurinaitis was the WWE head of talent relations until he was forced to step down in 2012, around the same time the 2012 NDA was made with the former employee. Laurinaitis was reinstated to that role in 2021 but was placed on administrative leave after the paralegal investigation came to light.,The initial report cited an anonymous email sent to the WWE board of directors that revealed the NDA between McMahon and the paralegal. It also alleged that McMahon asked the board to give her a raise after they began a sexual relationship. Later, she was transferred from the legal department to a role in talent relations under Laurinaitis, who she also allegedly had a sexual relationship with. The email claimed that McMahon gave the paralegal to Laurinaitis “like a toy.”,In a press release after the investigation first became public knowledge, McMahon said that he would “do everything possible to support” the investigation and stressed that no money from WWE went to pay for the NDA.,While the allegations are undoubtedly a bombshell, it may be difficult for the board of directors to remove McMahon if he does not step down voluntarily. Vince McMahon owns the vast majority of Class A shares, with the remaining Class A shares belonging to his family members or trusts in his family members’ names. Class A shares have ten times the voting power of the Class B shares given to investors not related to the McMahon family, so the vast majority of the voting power rests with McMahon himself.,The billionaire wrestling promoter has remained defiant in the face of the allegations. While he stepped down from his CEO and Chairman of the Board roles “temporarily,” he has remained in control of WWE’s creative direction. Additionally, just hours after the first Wall Street Journal report came out, WWE announced that McMahon would be appearing on that night’s Smackdown on Fox. He did not address the investigation and instead welcomed the crowd to the show. Critics and even some of WWE’s talent called it a brazen attempt to boost ratings off of the news of the scandal. Smackdown’s ratings for that episode jumped 19.6% from the week before.,Fightful Select has reported that talent backstage at that show heard McMahon say “F*** ‘em” after his appearance, apparently in defiance of the allegations.,This is not the first time McMahon has faced sexual misconduct allegations. In 2006, a tanning salon employee told police that McMahon groped her, showed her nude images of himself, and tried to kiss her unsolicited. Police declined to press charges at the time, citing a lack of independent evidence.,While WWE has not yet publicly responded to the latest Wall Street Journal report, PWInsider has obtained a copy of an internal memo sent to employees of WWE.,“The Wall Street Journal has published a second story with expanded details on its initial WWE report last month. We want to reiterate that we and our Board of Directors take these allegations seriously.,We’ve been cooperating fully with the investigation led by our Board of Directors and will continue to do so until its conclusion. Please note that upon its conclusion, WWE leadership will make itself available to answer any questions you may have.,Thank you.”。

二 | 数位素不相识的年轻人带着露营桌椅以及小吃、饮料聚起来，在广场一角摆开了“龙门阵”。“我已经连续来了好几次了，能在杭州的繁华中心听音乐会，氛围太好了。你瞧，‘八少女’也在跳舞、伴奏，这里办音乐会太合适了。”来自湖南的小盛是一位博士生，目前在钱塘区一家企业实习，他指着流光溢彩的“八少女”音乐喷泉笑道。从浙江展览馆南广场到“八少女”音乐喷泉周围，观众密密麻麻站了一片，连广场的阶梯上都坐满了人。夏夜的晚风褪去了白天的炙热，带着一丝凉爽，但大家的热情却点燃了整个广场。在这里，音乐成了一扇“任意门”，推开门就能陶醉在民谣的旋律里。据悉，这场演出是浙江省文化馆和拱墅区文商旅集团共同打造的“文艺赋美·音乐任意门”活动之一。从今年5月1日开始，每周五和周末，武林广场的“八少女”音乐喷泉前都会准时响起歌声。本次赵雷歌曲专场吸引了千余人观赏。正式演出从晚上7点半开始到10点结束，但是许多歌迷意犹未尽，不愿离去。自发的“开放麦”活动，持续到晚上11点才散场。

三 | 浙江省文化馆工作人员介绍，“音乐任意门”打破了专业舞台的壁垒，不设身份、不限职业，让民间音乐爱好者、普通人都能站上城市C位。磁石效应 老牌商圈焕发新活力今年夏天，武林广场上除了“音乐任意门”的演出，还有杭州市商务社区街头篮球武林争霸赛新赛季的回归。80支来自辖区楼宇、企业的球队在这里集结，每周五至周日晚上在武林广场展开对决，将持续到9月中旬。原本属于年轻人的街头篮球，成了全城参与的夏夜狂欢。“八少女”音乐喷泉周围，“球个好市”同步开张。来自山西的小王在武林广场上卖冰绿豆汤、沙冰等夏日冰饮，他说，“每次有乐队演出，我的生意就会好很多，有时一个小时能卖300多元。”有歌听、有球看、有市集逛——武林广场上，没有人会空手而归。以武林广场为圆心，音乐、篮球、市集像磁石一样吸引着大量人气，进而为周边的五大商场带来实实在在的消费客流。今年以来，“音乐任意门”已经办了20余场；杭州女子半程马拉松期间，天水街道联动商圈酒店推出选手专属服务，酒店入住率同比提升30%，商圈3天客流突破80万人次、同比增长45%；全国服务消费季暨“味美浙江”食在杭州餐饮消费欢乐市集活动，武林商圈销售额超2亿元、同比增长35.8%，人流量135.3万人次、同比增长47.4%。放眼整个武林商圈，今年1月至6月，客流达1.73亿人次，同比增长17.7%；销售额达130.35亿元，同比增长11.77%。透过武林广场的热闹，我们看到的不只是一场场演出、一场场比赛、一个个摊位——更是老牌商圈焕发新活力的密码。

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