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Casey Wasserman, the entertainment executive tapped by President Trump to chair the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics, said late Friday that he is in the process of selling off his talent agency.
The move, first reported by the Wall Street Journal, comes after Wasserman faced backlash after his name was uncovered in files tied to convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.
In a message to employees of the Wasserman Group, he said he felt he had become a “distraction” to the firm and agreed to step back from the business to devote his attention to the Olympics, according to the Journal.
Emails published by the Justice Department late last month showed a suggestive conversation between Wasserman and Ghislaine Maxwell. The Epstein associate, who is currently serving a 20-year sentence on sex trafficking charges, recently pleaded the fifth during a deposition before Congress. She has also appealed to the Trump administration to dismiss her charges.
Wasserman acknowledged the correspondence quickly after its release and apologized for the emails — which the entertainment executive said came before the disgraced financier’s crimes were brought to light. He has also denied having a direct relationship with Epstein, except riding on his plane during a humanitarian trip to Africa in 2002.
Several artists, including Chappel Roan and Best Coast frontwoman Bethany Cosentino, defected from his talent agency after the messages were revealed.
“Staying quiet isn’t something I can do in good conscience — especially in a moment when men in power are so often protected, excused, or allowed to move on without consequence,” Cosentino wrote Thursday on Instagram. “Pretending this isn’t a big deal is not an option for me.”
She later called on Wasserman to step aside.
The 2028 Los Angeles Olympics panel has stuck behind its chair despite the uproar. The 35-member committee said it took the “allegations of misconduct seriously” and conducted a review, which their chair cooperated with.
“The [LA28] 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 board wrote in a statement obtained by The Hill.
“We found Mr. Wasserman’s relationship with Epstein and Maxwell did not go beyond what has already been publicly documented,” they added.
Mike Watts, a long-time executive at Wasserman Group, will take over the day-to-day control of the business, the Journal reported.
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