Several artists have spoken out about or left the Wasserman Music talent agency after emails between its founder and CEO, Casey Wasserman, and Ghislaine Maxwell appeared in the Epstein files.
Pop star Chappell Roan announced her departure from the agency – which also represents many DJs and electronic musicians – on Monday, 9th February, following similar statements from bands like the Dropkick Murphys, Water From Your Eyes and Sylvan Esso, and public criticism from Sleigh Bells and Beach Bunny.
“As of today, I am no longer represented by Wasserman, the talent agency led by Casey Wasserman”, Roan wrote in a statement posted on her Instagram Stories. “Artists deserve representation that aligns with their values and supports their safety and dignity. This decision reflects my belief that meaningful change in our industry requires accountability and leadership that earns trust.”
Rock band Wednesday have also left the agency, asserting that while the team they have worked with there are “decent and trustworthy people with whom we’ve worked with for several years”, the circumstances mean that “continuing to be represented by a company led by and named after Casey Wasserman goes against our values and cannot continue.
They continued: “For the sake of his staff we hope that he steps down from his company and it is rebranded, but until that happens or we find a new home at a new agency we will not continue to be associated with Wasserman.”
Manchester-based Austrian DJ salute, one of Wasserman’s many electronic music clients, wrote on X “I’m looking to leave Wassermann btw, and if you’re on their roster you should chat to your agent about doing the same”.
“We are demanding for Wasserman to remove himself and his name from the agency”, Chicago band Beach Bunny wrote on Instagram. “Continuing to be represented by a company led by and named after Casey Wasserman goes against our values and cannot continue”.
Best Coast’s Bethany Cosentino was one of the first artists to publicly put pressure on the Wasserman Group to oust its CEO in an open letter on 5th February: “As an artist represented by Wasserman, I did not consent to having my name or my career tied to someone with this kind of association to exploitation. 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.”
The LA singer and songwriter shared her statement to Instagram days after Casey Wasserman issued a public apology saying he “deeply regrets” sending now-convicted sex trafficker Ghislane Maxwell flirtatious emails in 2003. He denied having any personal or professional relationship with Epstein, but did acknowledge going on “a humanitarian trip as part of a delegation with the Clinton Foundation in 2002 on the Epstein plane”. “I am terribly sorry for having any association with either of them,” he added.
According to the The Wrap, there are internal Wasserman Group maneuvers being planned to buy out the company’s founder, CEO and namesake and rebrand the agency. As Sleigh Bell’s Alexis Krauss wrote on Instagram, “Would I love to just leave Wasserman Music? Yes I would. Can we? No, because I love and respect our agent and I trust him to make the decision that is best for himself, his family and his artists. The agents at Wasserman are not the villains.”
Krauss continued: “I’m not saying we’re powerless, but without systemic change and accountability for those at the highest levels of power, no meaningful change is going to occur. … None of these corporations are going to bat an eye if Sleigh Bells bails on them.”
Since this wave of artist departures and critical public statements, the Wasserman talent agency has removed its artist roster from its website, instead displaying a contact form, as flagged by the United Musicians & Allied Workers on Instagram today.
The correspondence documents between Wasserman and Maxwell were among the over three million files released last week by the US Justice Department relating to the convicted pedophile and child sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein.
