Casey Wasserman Will Sell Agency After Epstein Files Fallout

Casey Wasserman, the Los Angeles-based executive who chairs the LA28 Olympic organizing committee and founder of Wasserman, announced late Friday that he has initiated the sale of Wasserman, the talent and marketing agency he founded over 20 years ago.

In a memo sent to the company’s roughly 4,000 employees, Wasserman apologized for past personal conduct that has impacted the business and stated he would step back from day-to-day involvement to focus on preparations for the 2028 Los Angeles Games. Mike Watts will handle operations during the transition.

The decision follows significant client departures triggered by the release of 2003 emails between Wasserman and Ghislaine Maxwell in the latest batch of Justice Department documents related to Jeffrey Epstein. The messages, which included flirtatious exchanges—such as references to seeing Maxwell in a leather outfit and booking a massage—surfaced last month. Wasserman, then in his late 20s and married, has described the correspondence as regrettable and emphasized that it occurred long before Maxwell’s crimes became public. He has denied any deeper personal or business ties to Epstein beyond a 2002 humanitarian trip to Africa on Epstein’s plane, arranged through a Clinton Foundation delegation.

No evidence in the documents at the moment points to illegal activity by Wasserman. LA28 leadership reviewed the material earlier this week and confirmed he would remain chairman.

The fallout hit hardest in the music division. Artists including Chappell Roan, Orville Peck, Bethany Cosentino (Best Coast), Weyes Blood, and others publicly cut ties, citing misalignment with the agency’s leadership. John Summit and Subtronics posted on social media that he would leave if Wasserman did not step down. Additional exits came from acts like Local Natives, Dropkick Murphys, and others, alongside figures from sports such as retired soccer player Abby Wambach.

Wasserman’s agency represents major names across music and sports—including Coldplay, Ed Sheeran, Kendrick Lamar, Paige Bueckers, Brittney Griner, and Yoshinobu Yamamoto—though the client list has faced ongoing attrition. The company, backed by Providence Equity Partners and expanded through acquisitions like Paradigm and Brillstein Entertainment Partners, now heads to market amid the controversy.