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In April of this year, while the wrestling world was still processing the sale of WWE and Vince McMahon once again having a voice in creative, we learned of a lawsuit filed by a former writer against McMahon, the company, and several other executives.
Britney Abrahams wrote for WWE from 2020-2022. Abrahams, who is Black, essentially alleged that the company created an excuse to fire her in retaliation for her repeated objections to racist and/or stereotypical material pitched for or used in scripts for Raw and SmackDown.
For industry watchers and fans who’d been calling attention to such material for years, the case seemed to validate their criticisms — even citing examples of characters & scenes they’d specifically flagged as offensive. There was hope raising those issues in the legal system would influence more change in the WWE writer’s room.
Maybe it will. But the case quickly faded from the headlines, as many things do in the news cycle of the internet age. And the lawsuit itself may never make it to court, as Abrahams recently filed to dismiss the case without prejudice (meaning she reserves the right to refile in the future) against the individuals it listed as defendants.
Pursuant to Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 41(a)(1)(i), Plaintiff Britney Abrahams, by and through her attorneys, THE COCHRAN FIRM, hereby gives notice that the above captioned action is voluntarily discontinued without prejudice as to all claims and causes of action against defendants CHRIS DUNN, individually, RYAN CALLAHAN, individually, JENIFFER PEPPERMAN, individually, CHRISTINE LUBRANO, individually, MIKE HELLER, individually, VINCE MCMAHON, individually, STEPHANIE MCMAHON, individually, with each party bearing that party’s own attorney’s fees and costs. Dismissal is proper under this section because the Defendants have not yet answered the complaint in this matter.
It’s a move that many believe is an indication she and her legal team at The Cochran Group