In a critical segment on WWE on "Last Week Tonight" in 2019, John Oliver reported that WWE athletes have higher premature death rates than even NFL players, who studies suggest often suffer high rates of brain injuries.
Oliver called McMahon "morally subterranean" for not guaranteeing WWE talent health insurance, retirement accounts, or paid leave and worker's compensation if they get injured, and aired interviews with athletes who said they continued to work while injured because they could not afford to take time off.
Former Democratic presidential candidate Andrew Yang echoed Oliver's critiques on Twitter in September, adding that WWE prevents wrestlers from using their likenesses to profit through third parties.
"Come on, Vince — you've already deprived the folks breaking their backs for you of healthcare, security, recovery time, retirement benefits and fair treatment re: licenses and royalties," Yang tweeted. "At least let them make a living off their own names. Many of them need it."
The criticism has only escalated during the pandemic. In April, early in the pandemic, while other professional sports shut down to slow the spread of the coronavirus, WWE went ahead with its signature WrestleMania event without a live audience, the AP reported. WWE said it modified its production process to film with only essential staff, but the BBC reported that the league could have done more to limit interpersonal contact on set, including limiting matches to two wrestlers and using static cameras instead of manually operated ones.
Despite mounting criticism, WWE executives said the show had to go on because "people need to be entertained," according to the BBC.
Multiple WWE employees eventually tested positive for COVID-19, including announcers Renee Young and Kayla Braxton and producers Adam Pearce and Jamie Noble, per Forbes.