Upon announcing his plans to sell the agency, Wasserman said the controversy around him had “become a distraction” from the company. “That is why I have begun the process of selling the company, an effort that is already underway,” he wrote.
He also apologised to his employees, saying: “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.”
The Wasserman company is a sports and talent agency that also represents the likes of Ed Sheeran, Coldplay, Kendrick Lamar and Lorde. It reps major actors such as Brad Pitt and Adam Sandler, too, as well as some big players in football, basketball and baseball.
In early February, Best Coast’s Bethany Cosentino – who has been represented by Wasserman since its expansion into music in 2021 – urged Wasserman to step down after he appeared in the Epstein files.
Alexis Krauss of Sleigh Bells, who are represented by Wasserman, confirmed that the duo would not be leaving the company, citing the financial impact the decision would have on them. “Do I wish I could burn it all down, boycott and divest?” Krauss said. “Sure I do? But to be totally honest I can’t afford to. My band can’t afford to.”
Chappell Roan wrote that she “refuse[d] to passively stand by” when sharing her decision to part ways with the agency: “I hold my teams to the highest standards and have a duty to protect them as well. No artist, agent or employee should ever be expected to defend or overlook actions that conflict so deeply with our own moral values.”
Wasserman’s emails to Maxwell were flirtatious in nature, with one reading: “I think of you all the time. So, what do I have to do to see you in a tight leather outfit?” Maxwell also offered to give Wasserman – who was married at the time – a massage that can “drive a man wild”.
Maxwell was convicted on five counts of sex trafficking and abuse of minors in 2021. She is currently serving a 20-year prison sentence. Epstein was arrested in July 2019 for sex trafficking, and was found dead in his jail cell in August of that year. Authorities later determined that he had hanged himself.
Wasserman, who is the 2028 Olympics chief, also claimed that he “never had a personal or business relationship with Jeffrey Epstein” in his statement regarding the emails from the files.