Hollywood talent agent Casey Wasserman, whose client list includes major names like Chappell Roan, Ed Sheeran, and Kendrick Lamar, is stepping back in a big way after his name surfaced in the Justice Department’s latest Epstein related document dump.
On Friday, Wasserman said he will sell his talent and marketing agency after suggestive emails between him and Ghislaine Maxwell were exposed. Maxwell was the girlfriend of the late financier and convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.
According to The Wall Street Journal, Wasserman announced the decision in a memo to employees, explaining that he felt he had “become a distraction” and that the company was being affected by his “past personal mistakes.”
“I’m deeply sorry that my past personal mistakes have caused you so much discomfort,” he wrote in the memo, which The Wall Street Journal reviewed.
“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 added.
Wasserman also said longtime executive Mike Watts will take over control of the agency. Even though he is selling the company, Wasserman said he will continue focusing on his role as chairman of the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics.
The decision comes after growing pressure for him to resign. Several high profile clients have already walked away, including Chappell Roan, the Dropkick Murphys, and athletes like soccer legend Abby Wambach.
Despite the fallout, Wasserman is staying on with the LA Olympics. The organizing committee voted unanimously this week to keep him as chairman. The board reportedly concluded that the relationship between Wasserman and Maxwell “did not go beyond what has already been publicly documented.”
Wasserman, the grandson of famed Hollywood dealmaker Lew Wasserman, founded his agency more than 20 years ago and grew it into one of the largest sports marketing and talent management firms in the country. The company now has around 4,000 employees.
He is also a major Democratic Party donor and spent years working to bring the Olympics back to Los Angeles, which previously hosted in 1932 and 1984.
The Epstein documents also revealed that in 2002, Wasserman and his then wife flew on Epstein’s private jet to Africa with Maxwell, Epstein, former President Bill Clinton, and others to visit HIV/AIDS project sites.
CNN reported that an emergency physician on the trip told federal agents in 2020 that there were several young women on the flight, including a model, a ballerina, and a masseuse, for reasons he did not understand.
Wasserman has apologized and acknowledged taking the 2002 flight, but insisted he “never had a personal or business relationship with Jeffrey Epstein.”
In Friday’s memo, Wasserman said the trip was “years before their criminal conduct came to light,” adding that 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.”
