Rolling Stone has posted a new piece that features six former WWE creative team writers who commented on what Vince McMahonâs behavior was like during their time working closely with the now-disgraced former WWE Chairman.
Several of the writers claim McMahon created a culture of âbullying, fear and sexism.â
Michael Leonardi on McMahon getting angry over him removing a racially insensitive line from a script: âHe turned to me and he said, âSo you didnât give me what I wanted?â I said, âI understand, Iâm sorry. We all went over it and felt good about it, we just made the small tweak.â And then he started just yelling at me. It was such an intense moment. I walked out with my tail between my legs. The script called for Neville to speak up and tell everyone else that heâs âgot a dream too, and that dream is to win the Royal Rumble.â
Former writer on the atmosphere of the writing room: âEverybody was getting yelled at all the time in the room. It was more saying shit that was humiliating or mean [that was then] couched as a joke, but itâs a nasty joke. If youâre being targeted in the room, nobody stands up for you, but thatâs because if they do, they will get the bullet in the head, too. You donât stick your head up out of the foxhole for anybody, because nobody wants to take a bullet.â
Another former writer on McMahon changing scripts at the last minute: âIt doesnât really matter what he said in that creative room or if he loved it [at an earlier point], it was still going to get torn up before the show. By the time Monday rolled around and we were all in the production meeting, something else was gonna happen. It almost felt like a joke, like we were just there to satisfy Vinceâs whims. We were all Vince McMahon transcribers. I think Vince enjoyed the manipulation. He liked changing things. He liked keeping people on their toes. I genuinely felt like, this isnât to benefit the show or the storyline, Vince really just enjoys making people squirm.â
On other writers also causing problems: âThose people were the most miserable people Iâve ever worked with, but thatâs where a lot of them had worked their whole professional lives and thatâs the only game in town. They didnât know what it was like working on a regular television show.â
A female writer on the sexism in the writers room: âThey would touch me where they would have me come closer [to them]. They would pull me by my waist to come somewhere or move closer to them. Iâm just super aware that itâs kind of close to my butt and most people donât touch me by the waist ever. I thought, âThis is strange.ââ
On how Vinceâs absence improved the atmosphere: âWhen Vince wasnât there, it was amazing to see how things opened up. People start talking, the creativity [flows]. Itâs just so clear how much his influence and the way he ran things would actually stifle the process.â
Several other complaints mentioned McMahon demanding everyone to stand up when he entered the room. McMahon would also reportedly leave them waiting âfor hoursâ and âyou wouldnât know why you were waiting.â They claimed that many of the meetings wouldnât start until midnight and wouldnât end until 2-4 AM.
For what itâs worth, a spokesperson for McMahon issued the following statement on the piece:
âScores of writers could share tales of what an enjoyable, creative and freewheeling environment the WWE writers rooms were. This handful of (obviously disgruntled) individuals arenât representative in any way of the consensus â or of the truth. Many of the anonymous writersâ claims bear no resemblance to the reality of the writers room. Vince never told people to stand up when he entered the room. Thatâs ludicrous. Like many jobs in the sports and entertainment industries, the writerâs position was not a 9-to-5 gig. If new ideas needed to be implemented or changes made to the script, meetings could be held late into the evening because of Vinceâs availability given his travel schedule and his multiple duties at the company as CEO as well as overseeing all of the creative content for hundreds of live events and broadcasts every year.â
Leave a Comment ()