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John Laurinaitis and Vince McMahon are no longer with WWE after being accused of sexual misconduct by former employee Janel Grant. In a recent interview, Chris DeJoseph opened up about his negative experiences working with the company's higher-ups.
While DeJoseph worked behind the scenes as a creative team member, he also performed as Big D*ck Johnson on WWE television in the mid-2000s. The fun-loving persona often took his clothes off and danced around in comedy segments.
On the Cheap Heat Productions Podcast, DeJoseph claimed Laurinaitis, McMahon, and former production executive Kevin Dunn wanted to make him look foolish:
"One hundred percent, especially me," DeJoseph replied when asked if staff were treated disparagingly. "I think I was a joke to him [Vince McMahon] and to Johnny and Kevin and the crew. I think I was a joke to them. I was good at my job, but I was also the chunky guy, and they're like, 'Oh, how can we have fun with this guy?' I think that's part of the reason why the Big D*ck Johnson gimmick came to be. It was funny to them." [29:38 – 30:13]
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John Laurinaitis, a former WWE talent relations executive, left the company after 21 years in 2022 when Grant's allegations emerged. Vince McMahon, meanwhile, resigned from his position as a board member of WWE's parent company, TKO in January "out of respect."
Why Chris DeJoseph agreed to Vince McMahon's requests
As a WWE writer, Chris DeJoseph earned a guaranteed $24,000 per year. If he wanted a pay increase, he could also appear on television as the Big D*ck Johnson persona.
DeJoseph wanted more money at the time, so he agreed to perform as the character even though it could have been bad for his career:
"I did it because at the point I made $24,000 a year, and I was gonna get paid a thousand dollars an episode every time I'm on TV, and I couldn't afford a car payment, so I was like, 'Oh, I'm gonna do it,' not thinking, 'Oh my God, my family's gonna see this,' or people are gonna have bad opinions of it." [30:15 – 30:37]
In the same interview, DeJoseph explained why Vince McMahon played a part in his second exit from WWE in 2020.
Please credit the Cheap Heat Productions Podcast and give a H/T to Sportskeeda Wrestling for the transcription if you use quotes from this article.
