JAKARTA - The wave of exodus of big artists and public pressure due to the exposure of past closeness to Jeffrey Epstein's circle finally forced Casey Wasserman to take drastic steps.
The American entertainment executive officially announced that he would sell the Wasserman Group, a talent management and marketing firm he founded 24 years ago.
The decision was made amid a storm of criticism triggered by the leak of court documents related to Ghislaine Maxwell, a convicted sex trafficker and close associate of late sex predator Jeffrey Epstein.
In an internal memo sent to all staff, Wasserman acknowledged that his presence had now become a distraction for the company's business and reputation.
"I am deeply sorry that my personal mistakes in the past have caused so much discomfort for all of you. Currently, I believe that I have become a distraction from those efforts. That is why I have started the process of selling the company, an effort that is already underway," wrote Casey Wasserman in his memo, quoted by the Wall Street Journal, Sunday, February 15.
This step followed a boycott led by a number of top musicians. The rising singer, Chappell Roan, was one of the most vocal figures who decided to leave the agency.
The singer of "Good Luck, Babe!" previously implied that he did not want to be under the management of an individual who had moral ties to individuals involved in sexual exploitation cases.
Roan's firm stance then triggered a domino effect for other artists such as Gigi Perez, Orville Peck, to the rock band Local Natives to remove their names from the Wasserman client list.
Wasserman's sale will cover its entire business line, including its talent management division Brillstein Entertainment Partners, which handles A-list actors such as Brad Pitt.
During the transition process, day-to-day operational control will be handed over to Mike Watts.
Meanwhile, Wasserman said he would focus all his energy as chairman of the LA28 committee to make the 2028 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles a success.
"Besides my children and my fiancee, there are two things that mean the most to me in this world: the company I founded 24 years ago, and the dream I've been pursuing for more than a decade to bring the Olympics back to the city I love," Wasserman concluded.
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