Former Writer Suing WWE; Cites Racism, 'Stereotypical Jargon' In Scripts
A former writer for the WWE is suing the company because of “offensively racist and stereotypical jargon” she says appeared in scripts.
The lawsuit comes courtesy of attorneys representing former writer Britney Abrahams, who began writing for both WWE SmackDown! and WWE Monday Night RAW in 2020.
Abrahams — who is black — alleges that scripts, writers' rooms and even Slack channels contained "offensive" material that perpetuated stereotypes.
If you're wondering what she's talking about, she had some examples.
One such script involved wrestler Bianca Belair saying “Uh-Uh! Don’t make me take off my earrings and beat your ass!" Another one cited in the lawsuit had to do with Apollo Crews being told to “stereotypical and exaggerated Nigerian accent.”
However, Abrahams' complaint goes beyond things that appeared on the show and goes on to criticize ideas that were only pitched.
A former WWE writer has alleged that racism and stereotypical jargon were part of WWE scripts for wrestlers Bianca Belair and Apollo Crews. (Getty Images)
Abrahams Cites "Offensive" Pitches In WWE Suit
Abrahams' complaint contains an idea that was mentioned on a company Slack channel that included both Stephanie and Vince McMahon. On that channel, a writer floated an idea involving a black male wrestler dressing in drag.
Reading summations of the complaint, it doesn't make it clear who this would've offended — black people, drag queens, or people at the center of that Venn diagram — but regardless it was scrapped.
However, it was only scrapped after a white writer said it could “perpetuate harmful stereotypes that would offend viewers.”
The complaint says that Abrahams — along with other writers — complained about the ideas to the senior vice president of creative writing operations for WWE, Christine Lubrano. According to the complaint, Lubrano told her that “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. 4 years ago, no woman worked on the writer’s team!”
Abrahams was fired in 2022 and she alleges that this was in retaliation for voicing concerns. According to Bloomberg, WWE fired her for taking a Wrestlemania 38-branded chair. However, she claims this was something she alleges White male writers also did but were never punished for.
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