WWE writer fired for objecting to racist stereotypes in wrestling scenes, lawsuit says
A WWE writer was warned to carefully “pick and choose” her battles after speaking up about racist stereotypes written into wrestling scene scripts, according to a federal lawsuit.
The warning came soon after Britney Abrahams and the only other Black writer on the team were told to pitch a love storyline between two wrestlers, who are both Muslim, that involved one of them keeping a secret, the lawsuit says.
When they did, a lead writer disagreed with the secret the pair chose, and instead suggested “how about his secret is he’s behind the 9/11 attacks?” according to a complaint filed April 24 in federal court in Brooklyn, New York.
After repeatedly objecting to racist stereotypes meant for Black and Muslim wrestlers to act out, Abrahams was fired — but her firing came under the pretext of a different reason, the complaint says.
Now, Abrahams, a former SmackDown! writer, is suing World Wrestling Entertainment, its lead writers and executive chairman Vince McMahon, accusing the defendants of perpetuating racial discrimination, a hostile work environment, retaliation and wrongful termination.
McClatchy News contacted WWE for comment on April 28 and didn’t immediately receive a response.
The lawsuit was filed after Abrahams filed a discrimination charge with the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, which enforces federal workplace laws.
The EEOC granted Abrahams the right to sue on March 24.
Scene written with ‘offensively racist and stereotypical jargon’
Abrahams was first hired to temporarily write for WWE’s SmackDown! weekly TV series in November 2020 before she was hired as a permanent writer in May 2021, according to the complaint. Throughout her employment, WWE executives, including McMahon, commended her for her writing, the complaint says.
She started to notice her coworkers’ and superiors’ “pattern and practice of discrimination” against minority employees, the complaint says.
In one example, a white, male WWE writer planned a scene with “offensively racist and stereotypical jargon” for one of the two Black female wrestlers with a “dark-skinned” complexion, according to the complaint. Abrahams says she disagreed with the scene.
In the script, the wrestler was supposed to say “Uh-Uh! Don’t make me take off my earrings and beat your (expletive)” which “are lines based upon cruel, ugly stereotypes of dark-skinned, black women,” the complaint says.
More ‘racist pitches’ follow, lawsuit says
After Abrahams first spoke up about racism in wrestling scenes, more “racist pitches” and ideas followed, according to the complaint.
In the WWE writers’ Slack channel, it was discussed how a “dark-skinned,” Black and straight male wrestler would be made to “dress in drag complete with wig and tights” and engage in a “tag-team match against other female wrestlers,” the complaint says.
When Abrahams’ coworker, who is white, said that “putting a straight Black man in drag might perpetuate harmful stereotypes that would offend viewers,” the pitch was tossed out, according to the complaint.
In another example in the spring of 2021, Abrahams’ superior came up with an idea involving a “‘hunting’ gimmick” for a white, Australian wrestler to act as a crocodile hunter and hunt a Black wrestler “for fun,” according to the complaint.
Abrahams called this racist, to which her superior responded saying, “Oh, What? Is that a bad thing?” the complaint says.
WWE fires Abrahams
Each year, WWE holds its WrestleMania event.
For the event, WWE produces limited edition, branded chairs that employees have been allowed to keep following the events in previous years, according to the complaint.
On March 29, 2022, days before WrestleMania 38 began, one of Abrahams’ coworkers asked her superior if the writers could take a chair when the event ended, the complaint says.
The writers were told they could do so after the show, according to the complaint.
Abrahams ended up taking a chair after the event, just like some other coworkers did, but was reprimanded, according to the complaint. Meanwhile, white male writers weren’t reprimanded, according to Abrahams.
On April 7, 2022, Abrahams was “pretextually” fired, the complaint says.
“It is clear … defendants actually terminated her employment based on her complaints about Defendants’ racial discrimination and due to her race and gender,” the complaint says.
After her firing, Abrahams struggled to find work and felt humiliated and distressed and endured anxiety, depression and economic harm.
With the lawsuit, Abrahams aims for the court to stop WWE from engaging in “unlawful conduct” and seeks an unspecified amount of damages.
She demands a trial by jury.
This story was originally published April 28, 2023 at 12:20 PM with the headline "WWE writer fired for objecting to racist stereotypes in wrestling scenes, lawsuit says."
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