Hollywood mogul Casey Wasserman on Friday informed staff members at his talent agency that he is putting the company up for sale, a move that comes as he faces growing scrutiny over his ties to convicted sex trafficker Ghislaine Maxwell.
In a memo to staff obtained by NBC News, Wasserman wrote that he believed he had “become a distraction” at his eponymous firm, which represents high-profile musicians and athletes.
“I’m deeply sorry that my past personal mistakes have caused you so much discomfort,” Wasserman wrote. “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.”
The Wall Street Journal first reported the news.
Wasserman previously said he “deeply regrets” trading emails with Maxwell in 2003. The correspondence was published by the Justice Department in January as part of a cache of new files related to the late convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, Maxwell’s ex-boyfriend.
In a previous statement, Wasserman said the correspondence “took place over two decades ago, long before her horrific crimes came to light.” Wasserman added that he did not have a “personal or business relationship” with Epstein.
Maxwell was found guilty in 2021 of federal sex trafficking charges. She is serving a 20-year prison sentence. Epstein, who was convicted in Florida in 2008 on a child prostitution charge, died in a New York jail in 2019 while awaiting trial on federal sex trafficking charges.
Wasserman has not been accused of wrongdoing or criminally charged in relation to the Maxwell or Epstein cases.
In the emails released by the Justice Department, Wasserman expresses interest in seeing Maxwell wear a “tight leather outfit.”
“I think of you all the time,” Wasserman wrote to Maxwell in March 2003.
The furor over the executive’s email exchanges led some Wasserman clients to head for the exits this week.
Grammy-winning artist Chappell Roan announced Monday she was cutting ties with Wasserman’s talent agency. Abby Wambach, the retired U.S. women’s soccer star, followed suit Wednesday morning.
Indie musicians also criticized Wasserman. Bethany Cosentino, the frontwoman of the Los Angeles rock group Best Coast, wrote on Instagram that she “did not consent to having my name or my career tied to someone with this kind of association to exploitation.”
The grandson of legendary Hollywood power broker Lew Wasserman, the 51-year-old entertainment executive is also the chairman of the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics organizing committee. This week, the committee’s board announced it was standing by Wasserman.
“Mr. Wasserman should continue to lead LA28 and deliver a safe and successful Games,” LA28’s executive committee of the board said in a statement Wednesday.
“We found Mr. Wasserman’s relationship with Epstein and Maxwell did not go beyond what has already been publicly documented,” the board said.
“Twenty-three years ago, before Mr. Wasserman or the public knew of Epstein and Maxwell’s deplorable crimes, Mr. Wasserman and his then-wife flew on a humanitarian mission to Africa on Epstein’s plane at the invitation of the Clinton Foundation.
“This was his single interaction with Epstein,” the board added. “Shortly after, he traded the publicly-known emails with Maxwell.”
In the memo to agency staff, Wasserman said Mike Watts would “assume day-to-day control of the business while I devote my full attention” to the 2028 Olympics.
