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A former writer is suing Vince McMahon, Stephanie McMahon, and other WWE executives.
Britney Abrahams filed suit against WWE in the US District Court for the Eastern District of New York on Monday. She is accusing the company of releasing her after she objected to multiple instances of “offensively racist and stereotypical jargon” used in WWE scene scripts.
SmackDown Vice President Ryan Callahan, former writers Chris Dunn & Mike Heller, Vice President Christine Lubrano, and writer Jen Pepperman are also listed as defendants.
Documents related to the suit specifically mention scenes involving Bianca Belair and Apollo Crews as ones Abrahams voiced objections to. The former writer is said to have raised concern regarding Crews using a “stereotypical and exaggerated Nigerian accent” and also objected to a scene where Belair was scripted to say, "Uh-Uh! Don’t make me take off my earrings and beat your ass!"
Abrahams sent an email to Callahan regarding Belair's scene, saying, “I know I’m new, I’m not trying to be disrespectful or step on [Dunn]’s or anyone’s toes, but I would be remiss if I didn’t mention that [Ms. Belair]’s scene includes racial jargon and offensive stereotypes, particularly her go-home line.”
The suit alleges that Belair also objected to the line, telling Dunn, "3 DIFFERENT TIMES THAT I DON'T WANT TO SAY THAT LINE! BUT HE NEVER LISTENS TO ME! HE PUTS THAT LINE IN EVERY WEEK.”
Belair is also alleged to have said the line would make her sound, "ghetto."
After Abrahams' objections were rebuffed, she says the company "pretextually terminated" her for taking home a special WrestleMania 38-branded chair in April 2022. Her lawyers argue that doing so is a common practice, she was told doing so was okay, and white male writers were not punished for the same offense. Abrahams had been with the company since 2020.
Court documents state Abrahams continued to be subjected to racist pitches on a WWE Slack channel after she voiced her objection to the scenes involving Belair and Crews. It is alleged that a storyline involving Reggie/SCRYPTS dressing in drag was scrapped only after a white writer objected, stating viewers would be offended. Reggie would have teamed with Carmella had the storyline gone forward.
Another storyline mentioned in the suit would have involved Shane Thorne as a "crocodile hunter" type gimmick and he would hunt Reggie "for fun."
Court documents read:
Several allegations are also made against writer Jen Pepperman, including that she, "discriminatorily treated Plaintiff and other black, and African American WWE employees poorly compared to their similarly-situated white, and Caucasian counterparts."
It is also alleged that Callahan pitched a storyline where Muslim wrestler, Mansoor, would be revealed to have been "behind the 9/11 attacks." When Abrahams and other writers brought concerns regarding this to WWE Vice President Christine Lubrano, she allegedly responded, “Wacky things are said in the writer’s room all the time!” and “I know but look at the waves we’re making in the company. Four years ago, no woman worked on the writer’s team!” Lubrano is also alleged to have said, "I heard it was a joke" regarding Callahan's comments.
Abrahams' suit is seeking "reinstatement, damages, declaratory judgment, and an injunction restraining the defendants from engaging in such unlawful conduct."
