Casey Wasserman will put his talent and marketing agency up for sale in the wake of continued fallout from his recently uncovered relationships with Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell.
Late Friday, he addressed employees at the Wasserman Group in a memo announcing that the company he founded in 2002 would be sold as he turns his attention to serving as chairman of the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics.
“First and foremost, I want to apologize to you,” Wasserman said in the memo. “I’m 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, 51, has faced increasing calls to step down from the agency after government files of Epstein revealed that exchanged exchanged flirtatious emails with Maxwell in 2003. Epstein and Maxwell were both indicted on sex-trafficking crimes.
Maxwell is serving a 20-year prison sentence in connection with helping recruit victims and Epstein killed himself in a New York jail in 2019.
“This organization, its leadership and the entire team mean the world to me,” Wasserman’s not said to the company’s staff. “Our 4,000 employees are the absolute best in the business. I see you put it all on the line for your clients every day. Our clients expect – and deserve – world-class representation. And that’s exactly what they get because of all of you.”
Wasserman seemed poised to deal with the external pressure to part from his company but several of the agency’s clients like retired U.S. women’s soccer star Abby Wambach, singer Chappell Roan and indie rock band Beach Bunny all announced they would cut ties with the firm.
“No artist, agent or employee should ever be expected to defend or overlook actions that conflict so deeply with our own moral values,” Roan said in a social post on February 9. “I refuse to passively stand by.”
The agency is among the top talent powerhouses in Hollywood and represents music acts like Coldplay, Kendrick Lamar, Ed Sheeran, Pharrell, Lorde, and Imagine Dragons, with a range of sports stars like Klay Thompson, Giancarlo Stanton, Alex Morgan, Megan Rapinoe, Paige Bueckers and Rickie Fowler.
On Wednesday, the board members of the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics organizing committee put their support behind Wasserman to continue as chairman and believe his leadership should not be impacted by his interaction with Maxwell.
“We found Mr. Wasserman’s relationship with Epstein and Maxwell did not go beyond what has already been publicly documented,” the executive committee said in a statement. “The Executive Committee of the Board has determined that based on these facts, as well as the strong leadership he has exhibited over the past ten years, Mr. Wasserman should continue to lead LA28 and deliver a safe and successful Games.”
The committee said it worked with an outside law firm to conduct an inquiry of Wasserman, who apologized for any past dealings with Epstein and Maxwell.
“I deeply regret my correspondence with Ghislaine Maxwell which took place over two decades ago, long before her horrific crimes came to light,” Wasserman said in statement on January 31 a day after the goverment filed were released. “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.”
