RAINN Advocate Mick Foley Says Vince McMahon Rape/Human Trafficking Allegations Won’t “Mess With [His] Memories”
WWE Hall of Famer Mick Foley was recently asked about Vince McMahon and his own relationship with the man, especially in light of the new Netflix series that promises to unravel many of the allegations currently levied against the former Chairman of the Board of WWE.
Like many professional wrestlers from his heyday, it seems like it has been hard for Foley to separate the bad things that Vince McMahon has done (allegedly sexually assaulting a woman, defecating on her, naming sex toys after black wrestlers, etc.) from the good things that he has done.
That distinction — what Vince McMahon has done for him and others versus what Vince McMahon has done to others — has to be complicated for those who called McMahon a friend, a boss, and a mentor. Those are tough feelings and when asked about the allegations that McMahon is currently facing, it might just be better for people to say “no comment” and move along.
That’s not what Mick Foley did, however.
The former WWF Champion recently appeared with WWE Hall of Famer Rikishi at Comic-Con Northern Ireland 2024 for a Question and Answer stage show, put on by Monopoly Events.
The appearance covered a wide range of subjects but, inevitably, came back to Vince McMahon. When an audience member asked Foley and Rikishi what their personal relationships were like with Vince McMahon, both answered as honestly as they could, given the circumstances.
“I genuinely liked him,” Foley said. “To this day, I’m still trying to find an address to write to him, just to thank him, you know, for taking a chance on me.”
Foley said that his relationship with McMahon was never the same after he went to TNA for a few years, but he reiterated that he appreciated what McMahon had done for him.
“I think all of us are a combination of good traits and bad traits, and you hope your good traits outweigh your bad traits, and it seems, perhaps, that Vince got it backwards there for a while.”
According to the lawsuit filed by former WWE employee Janel Grant, the “bad traits” of Vince McMahon allegedly include: sexual assault, sex trafficking, making “hush money’ payments, and more.
Still, Foley argued, McMahon did some good things, too.
“I’ve been there when he’s done good things,” Foley said. “I’ve seen him do good things. I know I wanted — when I was writing books — I wanted to essentially do something like ‘Chicken Soup for the Wrestling Fan’s Soul,’ about some of these heartwarming moments. [Vince McMahon] was someone who did the right thing for the right reasons, a lot of the time.”
Foley then admitted how hard it was to separate the two sides of McMahon.
“I feel really bad that someone I care about got into something that seems pretty unsavory,” Foley remarked.
One of those “unsavory” things, per the lawsuit and the corresponding article from the Wall Street Journal, is the allegation that Vince McMahon “immediately directed Ms. Grant to lay down on
her back in a supplicating position. While straddling over her, McMahon defecated on Ms. Grant’s
head. McMahon left to shower off, but he instructed Ms. Grant to remain in place, with excrement
in her hair, and to continue performing for his friend. While Ms. Grant requested protection, none
was offered.”
Foley then said he was choosing to wait until the Netflix docuseries released before making up his mind about McMahon.
“I’m gonna hold of judgment until I see [it], but I think one thing that’s fortunate is that whatever he did or did not do, I don’t think many of us are allowing that to mess with our memories,” Foley said. “He was instrumental in creating some of those memories, so I’m choosing to appreciate him until I learn more about what may have gone down.”
Foley, a 3-time former World Champion, has also been an extremely vocal advocate for RAINN, which stands for the “Rape, Abuse, & Incest National Network.” RAINN, according to its website, is “the nation’s largest anti-sexual violence organization.”
Foley has donated thousands of dollars to the organization, and he became a noteworthy advocate after finding out that one of his favorite musical artists, Tori Amos, was a rape survivor.
“I can honestly say, I can look you in the eyes and tell you this is as important as anything I have done in my entire life,” Foley told ABC News in 2011. “Until meeting [Tori Amos] in 2008, I never really examined the idea that I might be able to do something about this issue. Once I did the reading, I could see that there were not really men speaking out on an issue that affects everybody, and I thought that this might actually be the place where I could make the biggest difference.”
Foley even served as a RAINN board member, and answered phone calls for the organization’s victim support hotline. Still, Foley said, he’s going to wait to reserve judgment on Vince McMahon.
Video from the event can be seen below. Foley’s comments begin at the 18:20 mark:
Follow Nick on Twitter/X at @WesternRebel
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