Ashley Massaro: Late WWE Star raped by the military and asked not to disclose it to anyone by Vince McMahon. Affidavit written by the late wrestler reveals dark side of WWE.
An affidavit written by the Late Ashley Massaro back when she joined the class action lawsuit by Konstantine Kyros has resurfaced on the internet once again.
Ashley Massaro apologized to the WWE for participating in the lawsuit afterwards. However, apologizing for the lawsuit and saying she should have contacted them is not the same as saying that the events didn’t happen.
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Massaro wrote in her affidavit that she was one of four performers chosen to go on a two-week tour in support of the U.S troops in Afghanistan, Kuwait, and Saudi Arabia. The other performers in attendance were Maria Kanellis, Ron Simmons, and Jimmy Hart. Gary Hart was also in attendance in a supervisory role.
She began to suffer from menstrual cramps after they arrived in Kuwait. Massaro asked to rest in the air-conditioned Humvee during a break. The US Army soldiers however, insisted that she was suffering from dehydration and took her to a nearby military base instead. She was told at the base that she needed an IV for dehydration. She was administered the IV despite her protests. They told her that it was very common due to the hot weather.
Jimmy Hart then came to check up on her. She told him that she was fine. However,they wouldn’t let her leave because she had to wait to see a doctor. Jimmy said he and the rest of the group were going to get lunch and left.
After a couple of hours, a man, dressed in an orange t-shirt and cargo shorts, appeared in the sickbay.
She recounts:
“I had heard others comment that it was his birthday. He represented himself as a US Army doctor but I observed that all the other doctors at the facility had been wearing scrubs so I do not know whether this was true. He was with a woman who was dressed in full military fatigues. While I was still in the sickbay, he approached me and almost immediately administered an IV of an unknown substance in my other arm. Almost immediately after, the alleged doctor and the woman in fatigues moved me into a room that did not appear to be a treatment room and placed me on a table”.
She said that the woman guarded the door while the man injected her with a drug that rendered her temporarily paralyzed. The man then proceeded to violently rape and sodomize her. Despite being unable to control her movements, she remained fully conscious for every second of the attack and felt excruciating pain as a result of this man penetrating her by force in a violent and aggressive manner.
She termed the experience a living nightmare. She also wrote about how she felt dehumanized. Massaro was extremely disturbed by the feeling that she was given to this man as some type of sick birthday present, while a female soldier willingly guarded the door for him.
Finally, Gary returned and was banging on the door ‘the affidavit reads.
“The man and woman yelled “one minute” and threw a dirty quilt on her. They immediately stormed out when Gary Hart attempted to ask them what was going on. He then wrapped her in a quilt and carried her to the Humvee. After which he took her back to her hotel room.
Her meeting with Vince McMahon.
After she returned to the US, Dr. Rios set a meeting with her and questioned her about the incident. She explained everything to him on the condition that he not disclose the information to anyone. However, Dr. Rios informed Vince, who called her into a meeting shortly after. Vince led the meeting and asked her to recount what happened in Kuwait.
According to Ashley Massaro, Vince told her that it was not in the best interest of the WWE for her to make the information about her attack public.
“I was still completely traumatized at that point and I just agreed” she wrote. “Vince did at least apologize for what I went through, but then stressed that if I disclosed this incident it would ruin the relationship between the WWE and the US Military. “He told me not to let one bad experience ruin the good work they were doing. His lack of sensitivity in referring to my ordeal as “one bad experience” left me speechless”.
The Aftermath
She expressed disappointment for not receiving adequate support by the WWE for what was clearly a traumatic series of events for her.
“Obviously, I should have received counseling or therapy after the attack, but neither Dr. Rios nor Vince had even suggested therapy or counseling of any sort. I was forced to deal with and live with this incident on my own. I felt that that Dr. Rios, as he had been in all of my interactions with him, was sympathetic and would have liked to do more to help, but he was under the thumb of the WWE, and in particular, Vince”.
WWE’s negligence for their wrestler’s well being:
“Vince approached my rape in the same manner he approached all wrestler injuries. He did not want to damage the reputation of the WWE by making them public knowledge. So he exerted extreme pressure on us to stay silent, to perform whether or not it was safe to do so, and had almost no regard for our well-being. We were treated as replaceable commodities”.
She also expressed anger at WWE concealing the risks of long-term damage from repeated head injuries. The consequences of which being; so many men and women either dead or left dealing on their own with the aftermath of their injuries.
“I am angry that WWE doesn’t educate/inform/train its performers. I’m angry that WWE silences its performers. I’m angry that WWE puts its performers in dangerous situations. I am angry that WWE fails to provide appropriate treatment when injuries occur. I am angry that I’m already suffering from long term effects of in-ring injuries which may get worse over time and that WWE disclaims responsibility”.
She pointed out that the WWE had failed in its duties; to promote and protect the safety and well-being of their wrestlers. She hoped that her story would help shed light on what she viewed was an important cause that deeply affected her personally. The late Ashley Massaro urged young people aspiring to be professional wrestlers to think twice and consider the realities of the situation.
You can read the entire affidavit here.
