AJ Lee and Stephanie McMahon Revisit Their Famous 2015 Shoot Twitter Exchange

AJ Lee and Stephanie McMahon revisited their 2015 shoot Twitter exchange during a recent episode of McMahon’s What’s Your Story? podcast. The discussion centered on a public interaction that occurred after Patricia Arquette’s Oscars speech on women’s rights. Stephanie had posted a message thanking Arquette for using her platform to address gender equality. AJ Lee replied by pointing out differences between the contributions of WWE’s female performers and the limited pay and television time they received in comparison to male talent.

The exchange was not part of WWE programming but still garnered substantial attention. It also prompted direct responses from Stephanie McMahon in her executive capacity and from Vince McMahon, then WWE’s CEO. Both acknowledged AJ’s comments, and Vince stated publicly that WWE was listening, asking fans to continue supporting the product while internal conversations continued.

On the podcast, Stephanie shared her perspective on the situation. She said she respected AJ’s decision to raise the issue despite having no direct control over the matters discussed at the time. Stephanie added that WWE’s women’s evolution was mainly driven by the female roster and noted the influence of widespread fan support.

“I was actually happy that you posted that. I wasn’t happy that it was directed at me because it wasn’t anything I had direct control over. But I was really happy that you did because that movement, the whole women’s evolution in WWE, it didn’t happen because of executives or it didn’t happen because, I mean, maybe along the way, people voicing their opinions, but it really happened because of the women who paved the way all the way back to the beginning of all of these incredible women who have been inside the squared circle no matter what promotion they were in.”

She referenced the #GiveDivasAChance movement, explaining that AJ’s message helped bring further attention to concerns already circulating among viewers and performers.

“But then, for our audience, when they started the hashtag ‘Give Divas a Chance’ at that time, that’s what couldn’t be ignored. And the audience would never have gotten behind the movement if it weren’t for people like you who actually stood up for women publicly and take on the machine a little bit. It was a big deal, I thought.”

In response, AJ Lee said she understood the risks of publicly commenting but believed the message was important. She described the period as difficult yet appreciated the professional handling of the situation afterward. AJ noted that everyone involved approached the matter as a business, and she valued the respectful environment that followed.

“I appreciate that. And I feel like change doesn’t happen unless there’s sacrifice. You have to be willing to lose everything to get what you want. I feel like in every aspect of life, playing it safe might give you a safe life, but I don’t know if it gives you an exceptional life. And so I felt like that was worth it, whatever backlash was going to be. But I thought you were cool after. Like, everyone was pretty chill. It was business, and I appreciate that. But, you know, it was a rough time.”