Casey Wasserman, a leading Hollywood talent agent whose clients include Chappell Roan, Coldplay, Ed Sheeran and Kendrick Lamar, is selling his business after communications with Ghislaine Maxwell were exposed as part of the US justice department’s recent dump of investigative documents relating to Jeffrey Epstein.
Wasserman, grandson of the late famed Hollywood dealmaker Lew Wasserman, said late on Friday he was putting his eponymous talent and marketing agency on the block, citing the impact on the company from “past personal mistakes” and telling staff he felt that he had “become a distraction” to its work.
The details were first reported by the Wall Street Journal.
Wasserman said a deputy, company president Mike Watts, would oversee day-to-day business operations “while I devote my full attention to delivering Los Angeles an Olympic Games in 2028 that is worthy of this outstanding city”.
Last week, the committee organizing the Olympic Games in Los Angeles unanimously voted to keep Wasserman as chair, saying “LA28 takes allegations of misconduct seriously, and our board is committed to thoroughly reviewing any concerns related to the organization’s leadership”.
The committee said Wasserman “fully cooperated” with the review and it had found Wasserman’s relationship with Epstein and Maxwell “did not go beyond what has already been publicly documented”.
In a statement to staff at the agency, Wasserman said he was “deeply sorry that my 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 was facing a client rebellion after suggestive communications with Maxwell in 2003 were released. In one, he told her: “I think of you all the time. So, what do I have to do to see you in a tight leather outfit?”
In a response to the then married man, Maxwell offered to give him a massage that can “drive a man wild”. “All that rubbing – are you sure you can take it? The thought frankly is leaving me a little breathless.”
In another, Maxwell asked if it will be foggy enough during an upcoming visit “so that you can float naked down the beach”.
In recent days, a number of Wasserman’s clients, including Grammy winner Chappell Roan and US women’s soccer star Abby Wambach, cut ties to the agency. In a statement, Roan said: “No artist, agent or employee should ever be expected to defend or overlook actions that conflict so deeply with our own moral values.”
Artists, she added, “deserve representation that aligns with their values and supports their safety and dignity” and her decision “reflects my belief that meaningful change in our industry requires accountability and leadership that earns trust”.
After the emails were disclosed, Wasserman issued an apology, saying he regretted his correspondence with Maxwell, “which took place over two decades ago, long before her horrific crimes came to light”. He stated: “I never had a personal or business relationship with Jeffrey Epstein.”
Other Wasserman clients who have departed the agency or spoke out include the Dropkick Murphys, John Summit, Orville Peck, Weyes Blood, Best Coast front woman Bethany Cosentino and the indie group Wednesday.
Wasserman joins a lengthy parade of business figures who have resigned or stepped down over their contacts with Epstein, who died in federal custody in 2019 while awaiting trial on sex-trafficking charges, or Maxwell, currently serving a 20-year sentence for related offenses.
Figures who have stepped aside include Kathryn Ruemmler, the top lawyer at Goldman Sachs and former White House counsel to Barack Obama. Emails showed that Ruemmler described Epstein as an “older brother” and downplayed his sex crimes.
Attorney Brad Karp stepped down as chair of the high-powered law firm Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison after emails showed him thanking Epstein “for including me in an evening I’ll never forget”.