After Casey Wasserman's ties to Ghislaine Maxwell were revealed in the latest batch of the Epstein Files, musicians on Wasserman Group's roster have been reckoning. Chappell Roan, Wednesday, Water From Your Eyes, Weyes Blood, Orville Peck, and more have departed from the talent agency, whereas others, such as Best Coast's Bethany Cosentino, have threatened to leave if the CEO and founder doesn't step down. Yesterday, The Wall Street Journal reported that Casey Wasserman is putting the company up for sale.
"I'm deeply sorry that my past personal mistakes have caused you so much discomfort," Wasserman wrote in a memo sent to staff last night, reviewed by WSJ. "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."
He said he felt he'd "become a distraction" from the firm's work and had begun the process of selling Wasserman Group. He is chairman of the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics, and sources told WSJ that the committee organizing the games earlier this week voted unanimously to keep him as chairman. He added that longtime executive Mike Watts would be in charge of day-to-day control of Wasserman as he focuses on planning the 2028 Olympics.
The memo said that his 2002 humanitarian trip on Epstein's private jet with Maxwell, Epstein, Bill Clinton and others took place "years before their criminal conduct came to light." He said he was "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."
Along with the humanitarian trip, Wasserman had engaged in some flirtatious email exchanges around the same time with Maxwell, who in 2022 was sentenced to 20 years in prison after being found guilty of child sex trafficking with Epstein.
In his original response made earlier this month, Wasserman wrote, "I deeply regret my correspondence with Ghislaine Maxwell 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."
