WWE and Montez Ford are facing a lawsuit over a moment from the July 6 episode of Monday Night RAW that a Cook County Sheriff’s officer says crossed the line.
Noel Lucas, who was working off-duty security at the Allstate Arena in Rosemont, Illinois, filed suit Wednesday in Cook County Circuit Court against WWE, Ford, whose legal name is Kenneth Crawford, and WWE subsidiary Event Services, LLC. Lucas is accusing the defendants of 14 counts, including assault, battery, intentional infliction of emotional distress and violations of the Illinois Gender Violence Act.
The incident happened during The Street Profits’ entrance as Ford and Angelo Dawkins made their way toward the ring. According to the lawsuit, Lucas had been instructed by a WWE employee to work near ringside when Ford approached him during the live Netflix broadcast.
The complaint claims Ford began performing a sexualized dance directly in front of Lucas without warning or consent. Lucas alleges Ford continued moving closer to him as the bit went on.
“Defendant Crawford then began performing a sexually provocative dance immediately in front of and over Plaintiff [Lucas], repeatedly thrusting and gyrating his hips and pelvis towards Plaintiff, performing a sexualized ‘lap dance.’”
“[Crawford] moved his body increasingly closer to [Lucas]; continued the lap dance.”
The lawsuit also claims Ford’s “left inner thigh repeatedly rubbed against Plaintiff’s leg.” Lucas says the situation became even worse once video of the interaction spread online. According to the complaint, footage received hundreds of thousands of views and was shared through WWE and Ford’s social media accounts.
Lucas claims the exposure made him recognizable when he returned to his full-time job at a courthouse the following day. The lawsuit alleges members of the public recognized Lucas and mocked him by recreating the motions from the RAW segment.
“Members of the public recognized him from the videos of the encounter that had circulated on social media and mocked him, thrusting their hips in his direction, imitating the sexual movements.”
Lucas also claims his children have been mocked and ridiculed at school because of the video. His attorneys say the situation has caused him ongoing humiliation, embarrassment and emotional distress. Lucas is also accusing WWE and Ford of improperly using his likeness for commercial purposes under the Illinois Right of Publicity Act. Attorney Whitney Barr addressed the lawsuit in a statement provided to POST Wrestling.
“Like so many law enforcement officers, Mr. Lucas works a second job in order to better provide for his children.”
Lucas works for the Cook County Sheriff’s Department while also supervising security personnel for Monterrey Security, which is how he ended up working the WWE event.
As of Thursday evening, the version of the July 6 RAW episode available on Netflix no longer showed the interaction. The broadcast appears to cut to a break early in The Street Profits’ entrance, although footage of the moment remains available elsewhere online.
Lucas is seeking unspecified monetary damages, punitive damages and legal costs. He is also asking the court to prevent WWE and Ford from using his identity. A case management hearing is scheduled for December 10. WWE had not issued a response to the lawsuit at the time of the original story.
The lawsuit now puts a moment that originally played out as part of The Street Profits’ entrance under a much different spotlight, with Lucas arguing that what WWE presented as entertainment caused problems that followed him away from the arena and into his personal life.
What do you make of the allegations against WWE and Montez Ford, and do you think performers should have stricter boundaries when interacting with security and other non-performers during entrances? Let us know your thoughts and feedback in the comments.
