Los Angeles mayor calls for Casey Wasserman to resign from 2028 Olympics amid Epstein files connection
The Mayor of Los Angeles, Karen Bass, has called for Casey Wasserman to step down from the 2028 Olympics committee after he was named in the Epstein files.
Wasserman is the head of the 2028 Olympics, which is set to be held in Los Angeles. However, pressure is increasing on him to resign from his position, after it emerged that he frequently communicated with Ghislaine Maxwell over email in the latest files released by the Department of Justice over its investigation into Jeffrey Epstein.
After his name surfaced, Wasserman issued an initial statement. He apologised, “I deeply regret my correspondence with Ghislaine Maxwell”, who is currently serving a 20-year prison sentence for conspiring with Epstein to sexually abuse minors.
Wasserman also claimed, “I never had a personal or business relationship with Jeffrey Epstein”, but admitted to going on Epstein’s plane for a “humanitarian trip as part of a delegation with the Clinton Foundation in 2002”.
Then, a flurry of musical artists signed to his talent agency Wasserman Music announced their departures due to his connection with the Epstein files. The list of musicians included Chappell Roan, Local Natives, Odesza, Weyes Blood, and Orville Peck.
Following the litany of artists to have left the agency, and multiple others threatening to walk unless Wasserman sells the company, he announced on February 13th that he’s stepping down and looking for buyers.
He wrote in an email to employees, “I’m deeply sorry that my past personal mistakes have caused you so much discomfort.” Wasserman also wrote, “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.”
In the email, he told employees that Mike Watts would oversee the company for the foreseeable future, and he will “devote my full attention to delivering Los Angeles an Olympic Games in 2028 that is worthy of this outstanding city.”
Now, Bass, the Los Angeles mayor, has called on Wasserman to step down from his role with the Olympics, telling CNN, “I cannot fire him”, but noted, “I do have an opinion. My opinion is that he should step down.”
The Los Angeles Olympics committee previously issued a statement on the subject and confirmed that Wasserman would remain in the role following the conclusion of an independent review into his past communication with Maxwell and Epstein.
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