Casey Wasserman to sell talent agency due to Epstein files fallout
In a memo sent to staff, the Wasserman Group CEO wrote: "I have become a distraction ... That is why I have begun the process of selling the company"
Content Warning: This article includes accounts of sexual assault and sex trafficking and may be distressing for some readers.
Casey Wasserman has “begun the process” of selling his namesake entertainment agency following fallout from his name appearing in the Epstein files.
In files released by the US Justice Department in late January, he was found to have had correspondence with Epstein's associate Ghislaine Maxwell in the early 2000s, who is currently serving a 20-year jail sentence after being convicted of child sex trafficking and other offences in 2021.
A number of artists on the agency spoke out against the CEO of the Wasserman Group, with some cutting ties with the agency, following this revelation.
Artists who publicly announced they have departed the talent agency include Odesza, Levity, dj pressed, and one of its most high–profile acts Chappell Roan, while those indicating they planned to leave, or issuing ultimatums for Casey Wasserman to step down from his role in order for them to remain with the agency, include John Summit, salute and Louis The Child.
In a memo sent to the company’s 4,000 staff on Friday night and seen by the Wall Street Journal and Rolling Stone, the CEO of the Wasserman Group wrote” “I’m heartbroken that my brief contact with them 23 years ago has caused you, this company, and its clients so much hardship over the past days and weeks.”
“At this moment, I believe that I have become a distraction to those efforts. That is why I have begun the process of selling the company, an effort that is already underway.”
In the memo he also acknowledged that the “pain experienced by the victims of Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell is unimaginable” and that “past personal mistakes have caused you so much discomfort … It’s not fair to you, and it’s not fair to the clients and partners we represent so vigorously and care so deeply about.”
Wasserman travelled to Africa on a plane owned by Jeffrey Epstein as part of a delegation with the Clinton Foundation in 2002, described as a “humanitarian trip”.
In one email from 2003, Wasserman and Maxwell discuss booking a "massage" for an upcoming visit, while in another, he writes: "I think of you all the time... So what do I have to do to see you in a tight leather outfit?"
In a statement issued on February 1, Wasserman said he "deeply regrets" the exchange, "which took place over two decades ago, long before her horrific crimes came to light.”
“I never had a personal or business relationship with Jeffrey Epstein. As is well documented, I went on a humanitarian trip as part of a delegation with the Clinton Foundation in 2002 on the Epstein plane. I am terribly sorry for having any association with either of them.”
Wasserman is the chairman of the Los Angeles 2028 Olympic and Paralympic Games Organizing Committee, and has received the board’s backing, with recent reports indicating he is due to stay on in that role.
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