When millions of new pages of the Epstein Files were recently released, the world learned some disturbing new things about Casey Wasserman, founder of the Wasserman Group, a massive talent agency. Wasserman was already a known passenger on one of Jeffrey Epstein's planes, and the new release included upsetting email exchanges between Wasserman and Ghislaine Maxwell, the Epstein associate and convicted child sex trafficker. Now, more and more artists are leaving the Wasserman Group.
Best Coast's Bethany Cosentino and Sleigh Bells' Alexis Krauss put out statements condemning Wasserman and explaining whey they couldn't leave their agents. But plenty of artists have announced that they're splitting from Waserman, including Chappell Roan, Wednesday, Water From Your Eyes, and Beach Bunny. Now, Weyes Blood, Orville Peck, and Chelsea Cutler have joined the ranks of artists leaving Wasserman.
On her Instagram story, Natalie Mering, better known as Weyes Blood, posted this statement:
I have immense respect and affection for my booking agents, who are unfairly bearing the impact of the situation over at my booking agency, Wasserman. As I continue conversations with them about their futures, I want to be unequivocally clear: I will not be remaining with Wasserman. Casey Wasserman's behavior is fundamentally at odds with everything I value.
On his Instagram, Orville Peck says:
In light of the recent findings regarding Casey Wasserman, I have made the decision to no longer be represented by the Wasserman talent agency.
My heartfelt thanks goes out to my personal team, some of whom I have respected, trusted and worked with for close to a decade.
I leave with a huge amount of compassion for the rest of the agents and staff at the agency, who are being left with a situation that impacts all of our work and livelihoods.
Chelsea Cutler made her announcement in a similar Instagram statement. Here's what she says:
I, along with the rest of the world, recently learned of Casey Wasserman's direct involvement with Ghislaine Maxwell and his ties to Jeffrey Epstein. In a time where many of us feel particularly angry, helpless, and exhausted by our country's climate, it simply feels incongruent with my values to not speak up or take action.
We are living through a pivotal moment in history where we are repeatedly expected to desensitize ourselves and to normalize things that are unequivocally wrong. I am deeply troubled by the idea of perpetuating this normalization and tolerance. While I am grateful for my day-to-day team at the agency, I cannot in good conscience be a complicit participant and remain silent witnessing these unethical actions. It is our responsibility as artists to take any possible opportunity to exercise our personal agency and stand for what we believe in.
For that reason, as of today, I will no longer be represented by the Wasserman Agency.
The Wasserman Group has a huge list of clients, including Kendrick Lamar, Coldplay, Ed Sheeran, SZA, Phish, Joni Mitchell, Geese, Cameron Winter, and Tyler, The Creator. At this point, though, it's hard to say who is sticking with the agency. Since the weekend, the artist roster page of the Wasserman Group website has been redirecting to a contact page.
Casey Wasserman is also facing calls to step down from his position as chairman of the organizing committee for the 2028 Olympics in Los Angeles. According to Variety, a number of Wasserman Group agents have presented Wasserman with an ultimatum, demanding that he divest or sell the company. He has not yet responded. Instead, he's reportedly meeting with executives to figure out his next move.
