Montez Ford’s WWE absence suddenly looks a lot less mysterious. With Ford now facing a lawsuit over his viral RAW interaction with a security guard, some fans naturally wondered if that’s why he’s disappeared from television, but apparently the two have nothing to do with each other.

During a recent Q&A, WrestleVotes was asked straight up whether Ford’s time away was connected to the lawsuit. According to the backstage word they’ve received, Ford is actually off television because he and Bianca Belair recently welcomed a new addition to their family.

“Montez Ford and Bianca Belair recently welcomed an addition to their family. So, according to people we speak to, that’s the reason he’s off TV.”

WrestleVotes then addressed the lawsuit itself and noted that WWE managed to keep the situation pretty tightly under wraps before it eventually became public.

“This lawsuit was kept as quiet as it could be before it broke.”

The lawsuit was filed by Noel Lucas, an off-duty Cook County Sheriff’s officer who was working security during the July 6 episode of Monday Night RAW. Lucas is suing Ford, WWE and WWE subsidiary Event Services, LLC over Ford’s interaction with him during The Street Profits’ entrance.

Lucas alleges Ford performed an unwanted sexualized “lap dance” directly in front of him. The lawsuit includes 14 counts, including assault, battery, intentional infliction of emotional distress and alleged violations of the Illinois Gender Violence Act.

Things got even more attention after another camera angle of the incident surfaced. That footage puts Lucas’ reaction in clearer view, showing him sitting almost completely still during the interaction before giving a blank stare and shaking his head once Ford moved away.

Apparently, that’s not the case. WrestleVotes’ backstage word is that Ford’s absence is about his family, while the lawsuit is an entirely separate situation that happened to become public while he was already away.

That doesn’t make the lawsuit itself disappear, but it does clear up one big question surrounding Ford right now. As things stand, there’s no reported punishment keeping him off WWE television, and his absence isn’t being blamed on the legal drama.

What do you think about the real reason behind Montez Ford’s WWE absence amid all the attention surrounding the lawsuit? Let us know in the comments below.