Janel Grant’s latest interview was meant to give fans a deeper look at what she says happened during the Vince McMahon scandal. Instead, it ended up drawing a scathing response from former WWE star Shelly Martinez, who made it crystal clear she isn’t buying Grant’s version of events.
Speaking on her YouTube channel, Martinez said she usually finds herself siding with women in situations like this. That’s exactly why Grant stands out to her. Martinez said after everything she’s seen and heard in the sexual trafficking lawsuit, she simply doesn’t believe Grant and thinks there’s much more going on than what’s being presented publicly.
“I always want to be on the girl side. So it’s a bad day when you’re the girl and I’m like, ‘Dude, I don’t believe you. I don’t believe you. I think you have an agenda. You’re shady. You cut corners in life and now it’s caught up with you. You don’t have my sympathy.’
“I’m sorry you had to go through that. I’m sorry you have issues, but you chose those things.”
That wasn’t where Martinez stopped, either. She then offered her own theory about how everything between Grant and McMahon unraveled. Martinez stressed that she wasn’t claiming to know exactly what happened behind the scenes and repeatedly admitted she could be wrong. Even so, she said she can’t shake the feeling that the situation only escalated after McMahon no longer wanted the relationship.
“I still feel—I could be wrong—but I still get the vibe that Vince was just kind of done with her and that’s when all this really spiraled out. So she didn’t get her way and now here we are. I don’t know.”
Martinez also argued that Grant had a chance to tell a much different story. In her view, Grant could have acknowledged her own decisions, explained how those choices affected her life and let people draw their own conclusions. Instead, Martinez believes Grant is trying to steer the conversation somewhere else entirely.
“She could have a real moment here if she just wants to tell her story about her crazy life and this, that and the other that happened, that’s one thing. Yeah, maybe at that time blah blah blah, but now it’s affected me. Now I live in a certain way because I made these choices. That’s powerful. That’s meaningful. That has substance.
But instead, it’s almost like just trying to distract you from the details so that she can play this role that she wants to play.”
Martinez wasn’t just questioning Grant’s story, though. She said the way Grant comes across during interviews has made her increasingly skeptical, arguing that something about Grant’s delivery doesn’t feel genuine.
“I don’t know what her deal is, but she comes off as not being genuine. The way she delivers her speech is very chaotic and I feel she’s trying to come off in control. She knows what she’s talking about, but it’s just not delivering, and that adds to me not trusting her word.
I don’t trust her. I can’t trust a thing that comes out of her mouth. I just think that there’s something off about her.”
From there, Martinez took aim at Grant’s growing public profile. She said there’s nothing wrong with speaking about personal experiences or raising awareness, but questioned whether Grant has crossed into trying to build a public identity around the case.
“It’s one thing to speak about your experience to try to bring some awareness, but she’s out here acting like she’s this advocate. That’s trying to almost—I don’t know if this is the case—but the vibe is like she’s trying to make this a career now almost, like to be speaking on behalf or whatever.”
One of the more surprising parts of the discussion came when Martinez admitted that she once questioned whether Grant even existed. Before Grant started doing interviews, Martinez said only one photo of Grant seemed to circulate publicly, which led her down a rabbit hole she now admits was fueled by her own skepticism.
“I remember I used to question, ‘Is she even real?’ Because there’s only that one picture. I was so questioning if this was such a planted story to just humiliate Vince and whoever else as a ritual because I didn’t believe she was real—you would just see that one damn picture.
So when she popped up… my whole thing was, ‘Is she even real?’ Oh, I guess she’s real.”
Even after dropping that particular theory, Martinez said she still finds the entire situation suspicious and believes there are parts of the story that don’t add up.
“Maybe I’m jaded and maybe I just wear my tinfoil hat too much, but it makes me question the whole thing because everything surrounding it seems too calculated and weird timing.”
The conversation eventually turned to whether Grant might actually enjoy the attention the case has generated. While someone else on the show first floated that possibility, Martinez admitted she could see why people might think that.
“Maybe. And what makes me feel that’s a good possibility is she’s one of those girls. She’s just one of those girls. Okay.”
By the end of the discussion, Martinez had one final message directed at Grant, making it clear her opinion hadn’t changed one bit after hearing Grant’s latest interview.
“Janel Grant, I’m very disappointed in you.”
Martinez’s comments are her own opinions and speculation about Grant’s credibility and motivations, not factual findings regarding Grant’s allegations against McMahon, which McMahon has denied. Even so, Grant’s interview has clearly led to another round of debate, and Martinez made sure everyone knew exactly where she stands.
What do you make of Shelly Martinez’s reaction? Do you think she raises fair questions, or do you think she went too far? Let us know in the comments below.
This transcript was produced exclusively for Ringside News from the original recording. Republishing the transcription in full is prohibited. When using excerpts, provide prominent credit and a link to this article.
