Wasserman Is Selling His Agency Following Epstein Debacle

Photo Credit: Claudio Schwarz

Casey Wasserman told staff on Friday night that he will be putting his talent agency up for sale amid the fallout from the Epstein files.

In a memo sent to staff on Friday night, Casey Wasserman announced he would be putting his talent and marketing agency up for sale. The news follows the recent release of a tranche of Epstein files which contained suggestive emails exchanged between Wasserman and Epstein associate Ghislaine Maxwell. That revelation saw numerous high-profile talents depart the agency over the last two weeks.

Wasserman founded the firm that bears his name over 20 years ago. His move to sell it comes in the wake of numerous agents threatening to jump ship after several clients publicly called it quits. Most prominently, those clients have included Grammy winner Chappell Roan and U.S. women’s soccer player Abby Wambach.

Aside from Roan, other artists to express that they were leaving Wasserman have included Orville Peck, Sylvan Esso, Above & Beyond, Dropkick Murphys, Chelsea Cutler, Weyes Blood, and more.

According to Wasserman’s memo, he said he felt he had “become a distraction” to the firm’s work, and that “it’s not fair” to either the employees or the clients. His announcement included news that longtime executive Mike Watts would be taking over day-to-day control of the business.

Wasserman is also chairman of the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics. His memo said he would be focusing on this role in his absence from the agency. Last week, the committee organizing the games unanimously voted to keep Wasserman on as chairman, determining that his relationship with neither Epstein nor Maxwell went “beyond what has already been publicly documented.”

In 2002, Wasserman flew on Epstein’s private jet alongside several other high-profile individuals, including former President Bill Clinton, as part of a humanitarian trip to Africa. That trip is well-documented, and Wasserman claims he never had a “personal or business relationship with Jeffrey Epstein.”

The documents released by the Justice Department included flirtatious email exchanges back in 2003 between Wasserman and Maxwell. Maxwell is currently serving a 20-year prison sentence for her role in recruiting and grooming underage girls for convicted pedophile Jeffrey Epstein. Epstein died in jail in 2019 while awaiting trial on sex-trafficking charges.