Maxwell

Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass said in an interview Monday that she does not want embattled mogul Casey Wasserman running the 2028 Summer Games.

Bass told CNN’s Dana Bass that it was “unfortunate” that the organizers of the Los Angeles Olympics are supporting Wasserman amid revelations that he exchanged flirty emails with convicted sex trafficker Ghislaine Maxwell two decades ago.

Bass initially declined to take a position on the drama surrounding Wasserman, saying two weeks ago that it was up to the board of the LA28 Olympics — the nonprofit behind the Games — to decide whether to keep him.

But Monday, Bass offered a new take on Wasserman’s fate.

“My opinion is that he should step down,” Bass said. “That’s not the opinion of the board.”

She said that “we need to look at the leadership” of LA28 and that her job is to make sure that the city is “completely prepared” for the Games.

Wasserman has previously apologized for his correspondence with Maxwell and expressed regret for having any association with both her and Jeffrey Epstein. The exchanges took place before Maxwell’s crimes became known and before she was sentenced to prison for luring teenage girls to be sexually abused by financier Epstein.

Wasserman announced last week that he would sell his sports and entertainment company because of backlash over the email exchanges.

The executive committee of the LA28 board announced Wednesday that it reviewed the mogul’s past conduct and determined that based on the facts and his “strong leadership” of the Games, he should continue to serve as chair of LA28.

The LA28 executive committee — a subset of its broader, 35-member board — said it took “allegations of misconduct seriously.”

Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass, carrying the Olympic flag, LA28 chairman Casey Wasserman, front right, and Team USA Olympians skateboarder Tate Carew, second from left, diver Delaney Schnell, rear right, and volleyball player Micah Ma’a, top right, arrive in Los Angeles on Aug. 12, 2024.

(Damian Dovarganes / Associated Press)

It met Wednesday after hiring outside counsel O’Melveny & Myers LLP to assist reviewing Wasserman’s interactions with Epstein and Maxwell. Wasserman, it said, fully cooperated with the review.

L.A.’s Olympic leaders have yet to reveal who is on the committee. Bass’ office last week said her appointees on the executive committee include entertainment attorney Matt Johnson, real estate developer Jaime Lee and union leader Yvonne Wheeler.

At least 10 L.A.-area politicians, including a third of the 15-member Los Angeles City Council, have called on Wasserman to resign from leading the Olympics, with many arguing the exchanges are a distraction.

City Councilmember Nithya Raman, who is challenging Bass in the upcoming mayor’s race is among those calling for Wasserman to step away. Raman previously worked at a women’s rights organization formed in the aftermath of the #MeToo movement before becoming a council member.

Even before revelations about the emails, there were tensions between Wasserman and some Los Angeles politicians concerned that financial shortfalls in staging the $7-billion Summer Games will need to be covered by local taxpayers.

The relationship between the city and LA28 was further strained when the Daily Mail, a British tabloid, published allegations in 2024 that Wasserman was a “serial cheater” who’d carried on affairs with young female staff members. Wasserman, who separated from his wife, Laura, in 2021, has denied the allegations.

Former Mayor Eric Garcetti picked Wasserman, a close friend, more than a decade ago to run the Olympics.

Casey Wasserman, the embattled sports and entertainment mogul who is the face of the Los Angeles 2028 Olympics, is preparing to sell his talent agency.

In a memo to his staff Friday, Wasserman acknowledged his appearance in a recently released batch of documents related to the late sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein and his companion, Ghislaine Maxwell, had “become a distraction.”

In his memo, which was reviewed by The Times, Wasserman said he was “heartbroken that my brief contact with them 23 years ago has caused you, this company, and its clients so much hardship over the past days and weeks.”

Representatives for Wasserman did not immediately return for requests for comment.

“I’m deeply sorry that my past personal mistakes have caused you so much discomfort,” Wasserman wrote to his staff. “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.”

Over the last two weeks, artists including Chappell Roan and athletes such as soccer star Abby Wambach announced they would leave Wasserman’s eponymous Los Angeles-based talent agency that he founded more than two decades ago.

“I know what I know, and I am following my gut and my values,” Wambach wrote on Instagram. “I will not participate in any business arrangement under his leadership…He should leave, so more people like me don’t have to.”

Wasserman told his staff that Mike Watts, a longtime company executive, would assume day-to-day management of the firm while he begins the process of selling it.

The Wall Street Journal first reported Wasserman’s staff memo.

Wasserman’s grandfather, Lew Wasserman, was a Hollywood titan who built the studio MCA into a powerhouse that acquired Universal Pictures. Casey Wasserman’s sports and talent agency, also built through a series of savvy acquisitions, has about 4,000 employees.

Wasserman plans to stay in his position leading the LA28 Olympic Committee, which has stood by him. In a recent statement, LA28 noted that the racy emails with Maxwell were sent following a humanitarian mission to Africa two decades “before Mr. Wasserman or the public knew of Epstein and Maxwell’s deplorable crimes…This was his single interaction with Epstein.”

“The 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,” LA28 concluded.

The messages to Maxwell were part of a massive trove of Epstein-related documents made public by the Department of Justice this month.

In them, Wasserman wrote to Maxwell, who is now serving a lengthy prison sentence for sex trafficking of minors, “I thought we would start at that place that you know of, and then continue the massage concept into your bed … and then again in the morning … not sure if or when we would stop.”

She responded: “Umm — all that rubbing — are you sure you can take it? The thought frankly is leaving me a little breathless. There are a few spots that apparently drive a man wild — I suppose I could practise them on you and you could let me know if they work or not?”

Wasserman released a statement saying: “I deeply regret my correspondence with Ghislaine Maxwell which took place over two decades ago, long before her horrific crimes came to light. I never had a personal or business relationship with Jeffrey Epstein. As is well documented, I went 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.”

Ghislaine Maxwell, Jeffrey Epstein’s convicted associate and former girlfriend, invoked her Fifth Amendment right and refused to testify before a US congressional committee, with her lawyers saying she would only answer questions if granted clemency.

Ghislaine Maxwell avoids answering questions on alleged co-conspirators in case of convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.

The associate and former girlfriend of convicted late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein has declined to answer questions during a deposition before the United States Congress.

Lawmakers expressed frustration after Ghislaine Maxwell, currently serving a 20-year prison sentence for her role in helping Epstein abuse teenage girls, invoked her Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination.

“As expected, Ghislaine Maxwell took the Fifth and refused to answer any questions,” Representative James Comer, Republican chairman of the House Oversight Committee, told reporters. “This is obviously very disappointing.”

“We had many questions to ask about the crimes she and Epstein committed as well as questions about potential co-conspirators,” he added.

Maxwell was subpoenaed to appear before the committee to discuss her relations with Epstein, but her lawyers stated that she would only testify if US President Donald Trump granted her clemency. Lawmakers had declined a previous request to grant Maxwell legal immunity before testifying.

“She [Maxwell] pleaded the Fifth, which under the US Constitution gives you the right not to answer questions on the grounds that you might incriminate yourself,” said Al Jazeera correspondent Alan Fisher.

“People were waiting to hear answers to important questions, but we got nothing from Ghislaine Maxwell,” he added. “What she did say, very briefly, was that she never saw any evidence of Donald Trump or [former US President] Bill Clinton involved in anything that was illegal. Many people suggest that was a deliberate ploy on her part to say, ‘Look, you buy my silence, but I want clemency.’ She’s appealing to both parties here to say, ‘I will clear the people that you care most about.’”

In a letter released on Sunday by Representative Ro Khanna expressing frustration with Maxwell’s refusal to testify, Khanna noted that Maxwell had spoken with Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche, who previously worked as Trump’s personal lawyer, without invoking the Fifth Amendment.

“This position appears inconsistent with Ms Maxwell’s prior conduct, as she did not invoke the Fifth Amendment when she previously met with Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche to discuss substantially similar subject matter,” he said.

Maxwell was moved to a minimum-security prison in Texas after meeting twice with Blanche last year.

Lawmakers such as Democratic Senator Sheldon Whitehouse have called the decision “highly unusual” and questioned whether Maxwell had “been given special treatment in exchange for political favours” as President Trump’s own relationship with Epstein comes under growing scrutiny. Trump has strongly denied any wrongdoing and called the Epstein scandal a “hoax”.

Blanche has said that Maxwell was moved due to “numerous threats against her life”, without providing details. Maxwell has asked Trump to commute her sentence, which she was given in 2022 after being convicted on charges of sex trafficking minors.

She is the only person convicted of crimes related to Epstein, whose connections to a wide array of individuals at the height of political and economic power in the US and around the world have been revealed in the Epstein files.

When Casey Wasserman boarded Jeffrey Epstein’s private jet for a two-week tour of Africa in 2002, he had little inkling he was embarking on a journey that could imperil his fortune.

The 28-year-old scion of Hollywood mogul Lew Wasserman was already the heir of a multimillion-dollar philanthropic foundation, the owner of a professional football team and the founder of a growing sports marketing firm. But many saw this as just the beginning for Wasserman, who seemed destined to follow his legendary grandfather as a business, political and culture titan.

He found an opportunity to step onto the world stage when former President Clinton invited him on a humanitarian trip to five African countries to promote AIDS/HIV prevention and economic development in nations racked by disease and war.

Wasserman, a prolific Clinton fundraiser whose grandfather helped him win the 1992 presidential election, was joined by others including his then-wife, Laura, actor Kevin Spacey, Epstein and his longtime companion Ghislaine Maxwell.

Casey Wasserman, then a 28-year-old owner of the LA Avengers, is photographed at his office in Beverly Hills in January 2003.

(Gary Friedman / Los Angeles Times via Getty Images)

Revelations around that trip and Wasserman’s risque emails with Maxwell now threaten his legacy.

A trove of documents recently released by the U.S. Department of Justice offer new details about the journey to Africa and Wasserman’s intimate relationship with Maxwell — an entanglement that has jeopardized his leadership of the 2028 Los Angeles Olympic Games.

From left, former U.S. President Bill Clinton, then-AEG CEO of Timothy J. Leiweke and Casey Wasserman attend the Clinton Global Initiative (CGI) annual meeting in 2011 in New York City.

(Daniel Berehulak / Getty Images for AEG)

Wasserman boarded Epstein’s jet three years before the family of a 14-year-old girl in Palm Beach, Fla., reported she was molested by Epstein, triggering a decades-long investigation that resulted in Epstein’s 2008 conviction for procuring a child for prostitution and 2019 arrest for sex trafficking underage girls. Wasserman has not been linked to any of Epstein’s wrongdoings.

Wasserman has previously apologized for his correspondence with Maxwell and expressed regret for having any association with both her and Epstein.

In a statement to The Times on Sunday, he said the Africa trip was the only time he met Epstein. “Following that trip, where I never witnessed anything inappropriate, I did not speak to, see him or communicate with him ever again,” he said.

This undated photo released by the U.S. Department of Justice shows Ghislaine Maxwell, a longtime confidant of Jeffrey Epstein and convicted sex offender.

(U.S. Department of Justice via Associated Press)

For Wasserman, now 51, the most damaging of the files highlight his relationship with Maxwell, the Oxford University-educated daughter of British newspaper magnate Robert Maxwell. She was sentenced to 20 years in prison in 2022 for conspiring with Epstein to sexually abuse minors.

“I think of you all the time,” Wasserman wrote to Maxwell about five months after he and his wife left Africa. “So, what do I have to do to see you in a tight leather outfit?”

Maxwell, in turn, offered Wasserman a massage that can “drive a man wild.”

The scandal has roiled Los Angeles, where Wasserman serves as the face of the Olympics. Since the emails were released Jan. 30 by the federal government, some L.A. officials have demanded that he step down from the organizing committee of the LA28 Olympic and Paralympic Games. But he appears to still have the support of Olympic leaders and the LA28 board, at least for now.

Wasserman is one of L.A.’s most influential figures, presiding over a sports marketing and talent agency that represents professional athletes, including star Dodgers pitcher Yoshinobu Yamamoto, and scores of top musicians, such as Kendrick Lamar, Kacey Musgraves, Chappell Roan and Coldplay.

“Wasserman is in trouble,” longtime Los Angeles political observer Sherry Bebitch Jeffe said. “These Games are so important to Los Angeles — economically and politically. This will not be helpful to the city if this drumbeat continues and gets louder.”

Movie studio titan Lew Wasserman’s only grandson entered the world in 1974 as Casey Myers.

His parents, Lynne Wasserman and stockbroker Jack Myers, separated when he was 7. His father wasn’t much of a figure in his life and was later charged with money-laundering. Lew and his wife, Edie, filled the gap.

Lew R. Wasserman, chairman of MCA’s board of directors since 1973, is shown in December 1976 at an unknown location. Wasserman became president and chief executive officer of MCA Inc., later known as Universal Studios Inc., the major entertainment and communications company.

(Associated Press)

“Lew was disappointed he never had a son,” Lew Wasserman’s biographer Dennis McDougal told The Times in 2002. “In his typical fashion, by dint of his power and his money and his overbearing personality, he took what he wanted. He essentially stole Jack Myers’ son. By the time Casey was a teenager, the die was cast. He was Lew’s little boy.”

Like his famous grandfather, Casey was drawn to politics and one figure in particular: Bill Clinton.

In 1992, the then-governor of Arkansas was struggling for traction in his presidential bid and his campaign was heavily in debt when a stately door opened for him in Los Angeles.

Lew Wasserman, the godfather of modern-day Hollywood, was willing to help propel Clinton to the White House.

A larger-than-life figure, Wasserman was a onetime talent agent who clawed his way to the pinnacle of power by building an entertainment colossus with movie production, television, music and theme parks. His MCA Inc., which owned Universal, gave a young Steven Spielberg his break that became “Jaws.”

Lew and Edie Wasserman held a splashy fundraiser for Clinton in August 1992 at their Beverly Hills mansion adorned with Matisse and Degas paintings. Tom Cruise, Nicole Kidman and Kirk Douglas were among the stars who attended the $5,000-per-plate dinner.

Lew Wasserman and Edie Wasserman attend a party at the Beverly Wilshire Hotel in Beverly Hills on April 20, 1984.

(WWD / Penske Media via Getty Images)

“Lew figuratively — and literally — put his arm around Clinton, and that was very helpful,” said a former Clinton aide who was not authorized to speak publicly.

Clinton mingled with guests and gave a short speech, according to one former MCA agent who was there. Casey later told the Hollywood Reporter it was his first meeting with Clinton. He was just 18.

The event raised $1 million, according to a 1992 Times article. It also marked the beginning of a lasting friendship between the Wassermans and the Clintons — one that remains to this day, according to people close to the family.

As Wasserman aged, he was determined that his grandson would have the same high-level political access. “Lew loved Casey and he wanted him to meet a lot of the powerful people,” the former Clinton aide said.

At 21, Casey received his multimillion-dollar inheritance and changed his name to Wasserman. Two years later, he played golf with President Clinton at the Hillcrest Country Club.

After Clinton left the White House, the former president asked Lew Wasserman whether he would host a fundraising luncheon to promote the launch of his foundation.

“My grandfather said yes, ‘but only one thing: I will be there, but Casey is going to host at his house,’” Casey later said. “I was 26 at the time, and thankfully my wife — who wasn’t my wife yet — was around to help with the combined pressure of having the just ex-president and my grandparents there.

“We’ve since built an incredible friendship,” Casey said of Clinton. “I’ve been terribly lucky.”

Laura Ziffren and Wasserman Media Group CEO Casey Wasserman attend a luncheon honoring Casey at UCLA’s Pauley Pavilion on Nov. 18, 2015, in Westwood.

(Jesse Grant / Getty Images for National Football Foundation)

Casey Wasserman and his then-wife, Laura, set off for Africa on Epstein’s jet — an aircraft that would one day gain notoriety as the “Lolita Express” — the same year his family’s foundation donated $3 million to the Clinton Library Foundation.

Joining them was an eclectic crew: Clinton and his aides, Secret Service agents, actors Spacey and Chris Tucker, businessman Ronald Burkle, and former Secretary of Transportation Rodney Slater, along with Epstein and Maxwell.

Several unidentified young women were also on the plane.

Kevin Spacey poses for photographers on the red carpet for the film “Father Mother Sister Brother” at the Venice Film Festival in Venice, Italy, in August.

(Alessandra Tarantino / Invision / Associated Press)

According to newly released FBI notes based on a telephone interview with an emergency physician who traveled with the group, about four women ages 20 to 22 were on board. Their names were redacted from the file, but according to the physician, one young woman was a masseuse, another a model and a third described herself as a ballerina.

The physician, the report said, “thought it weird that Epstein flew with his former girlfriend, Maxwell, and four other women that no one knew why they were there as everyone else had a purpose.”

According to the FBI, the physician described the jet layout as a cockpit up front, then a seating area where Clinton and his staff sat, a kitchenette, another seating area with couches and a bedroom in the back with a sliding wooden door.

At one point, the physician told the FBI, one of the unidentified passengers shut Epstein’s bedroom door abruptly, as if they “did not want him to see or hear what was going on in that bedroom.” He also said he witnessed Epstein “grab and rub” an unidentified passenger’s buttocks.

There was no evidence that Wasserman or any other passengers — who largely stayed in the front of the cabin — witnessed any inappropriate behavior.

The group’s first stop was Ghana, where they launched a program with a Peruvian economist that would establish a legal property system for the poor. Next was Nigeria, and then Rwanda and Mozambique, where they visited AIDS clinics. In South Africa, they met Nelson Mandela to recognize a project to cut the country’s youth HIV/AIDS infection rate by half in five years.

Spacey told The Times he joined Clinton on the Africa trip to raise awareness and funds for HIV/AIDS, visit clinics and communities, and spend “an unforgettable day with Nelson Mandela.”

Financier (and future convicted sex offender) Jeffrey Epstein and his longtime confidant Ghislaine Maxwell at Mar-a-Lago in February 2000.

(Davidoff Studios Photography/Getty Images)

“The work — particularly helping ensure HIV-positive pregnant women received life-saving medication — remains one of the most meaningful experiences of my life,” he said in a statement. “It’s unfortunate that such important work has been overshadowed by the fact that the plane was provided by someone I did not know, had no association with, and never saw again.”

The Clinton Foundation did not respond to a request for comment. Clinton is scheduled to testify this month before a congressional committee — a historic appearance by a former president — to detail his dealings with Epstein.

“I have called for the full release of the Epstein files,” Clinton said Friday in a statement. “I have provided a sworn statement of what I know. And just this week, I’ve agreed to appear in person before the committee.”

After the trip, Wasserman and Maxwell kept in touch, sending each other salacious emails from various cities.

“Where are you, I miss you,” Wasserman wrote on April 1, 2003. “I will be in nyc for 4 days starting april 22 … can we book that massage now?”

“Umm — all that rubbing — are you sure you can take it?” Maxwell wrote on April 2. “The thought frankly is leaving me a little breathless. There are a few spots that apparently drive a man wild — I suppose I could practise them on you and you could let me know if they work or not?”

The pair also traded jokes. On April 6, Maxwell told him she was headed to London and could bring him back British staples: KitKat, cheddar cheese or baked beans. He passed.

“Ok, so that combo did not do it for you, what combo would then? she asked.

“You, me and not much else,” Wasserman replied.

In another exchange April 12, Maxwell told him that she was coming to L.A. and planned to stay at the Peninsula hotel in Beverly Hills. Wasserman replied with a smiley face.

A month after the racy exchanges, Laura Wasserman — daughter of Hollywood legal power broker Ken Ziffren, a close friend of Lew Wasserman — gave birth to the couple’s first child, a son.

Casey Wasserman launched his eponymous talent and marketing firm in 2002, a time when sports media were soaring and athletes increasingly were celebrities. He made a calculated decision to bypass the movie business, recognizing that he would always be measured against his grandfather’s success.

Over the next few decades, the Wasserman agency expanded into a major force in entertainment. Through strategic acquisitions, Wasserman now has about 4,000 employees and has branched out into television and music representation, acquiring a diverse portfolio of clients, including the Barenaked Ladies and the Dave Matthews Band.

His influence stretched further in 2014 when then-Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti, a close friend, insisted that Wasserman’s fundraising skills and access to movers and shakers made him the perfect figure to lead L.A.’s effort to land the Summer Olympics. Three years later, L.A. secured the role as host of the 2028 Games.

Today, Wasserman is under extraordinary pressure to deliver a spectacular event to uphold the city’s tradition of excellence. The 1984 Games surpassed expectations and even turned a profit, projecting a unified and gleaming image of Los Angeles to the world.

Wasserman takes no salary as chairman of LA28, but he has received benefits, including travel and other expenses. The Games also will showcase, and perhaps boost the fortunes of, his agency’s numerous Olympic athlete clients.

His ties to corporate sponsors, politicians and sports figures have been viewed by civic leaders as crucial to the success of the Games.

Peter Chernin, former president of News Corp., left, and Casey Wasserman, chief executive officer of Wasserman Media Group, walk the grounds after a morning session during the Allen & Co. Media and Technology Conference in Sun Valley, Idaho, in 2015.

(David Paul Morris / Bloomberg via Getty Images)

Even before the latest scandal, there were tensions between Wasserman and some Los Angeles politicians who are concerned that financial shortfalls in staging the $7-billion Summer Games will need to be covered by local taxpayers. Other host cities have been left with yawning deficits, prompting local political blowback. LA28 organizers have expressed confidence that the Games will be a success.

The relationship between the city and LA28 was further strained when the Daily Mail, a British tabloid, published allegations in 2024 that Wasserman was a “serial cheater” who’d carried on affairs with young female staff members. Wasserman, who separated from Laura in 2021, denied the allegations.

Wasserman, at the time, was in Paris for the 2024 Games.

The sports mogul — who had helped carry the torch at the 1984 Summer Olympics in L.A. when he was 10 — had been scheduled to join Mayor Karen Bass on the Paris stage during the flag handoff at the glitzy closing ceremony televised around the world.

But Bass, who does not have the personal relationship with Wasserman that her predecessors Garcetti and Antonio Villaraigosa did, instead stepped up to the stage alone. Then she was joined by gold-medal-winning gymnast Simone Biles, and they handed the flag to Tom Cruise.

Wasserman does not appear ready to bow to pressure from politicians, including Los Angeles County Supervisor Janice Hahn, who have called for him to step down as head of LA28.

Casey Wasserman, chair of the 2028 LA Olympics organizing committee, and President Trump look at Olympic medals during a signing ceremony at the White House in August.

(Kent Nishimura / Bloomberg via Getty Images)

“This is not about shaming him for his past indiscretions,” Hahn said. “This is about the message we are sending to Epstein survivors and to the world about our values — especially as we work to combat any sex trafficking associated with the Games.”

After the release of the latest Epstein documents, lawyers, art museum executives, a former U.K. ambassador and Slovakia’s national security advisor have resigned, apologized or stepped back from high positions. Britain’s King Charles III stripped his brother Andrew of his prince title and position in the royal family after earlier revelations of his involvement.

“The Epstein files have been so powerful in moving people off the stage,” Bebitch Jeffe said.

But Wasserman appears to still enjoy the support of LA28’s nearly three-dozen-member board, which includes actor Jessica Alba, former movie mogul Jeffrey Katzenberg, Lakers minority owner Jeanie Buss, former House Speaker Kevin McCarthy and former Trump White House aide Reince Priebus.

Ultimately, he could weather the Maxwell controversy, hoisting the Olympic flame in 2028 — just like he did as a boy.

Bethany Cosentino, the solo artist and co-founder of the rock band Best Coast, posted an open letter castigating her booking agency Wasserman Music over its founder’s connections to Jeffrey Epstein and relationship with convicted child sex trafficker Ghislaine Maxwell.

Agency founder Casey Wasserman — also the head of the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics organizing committee — was included in a recently released tranche of federal documents related to the Jeffrey Epstein investigation. While Wasserman was long known to have have flown with his then-wife Laura on Epstein’s plane with the disgraced financier, these new documents included sexually suggestive messages between Wasserman and Maxwell, Epstein’s consigliere who is serving a lengthy sentence in federal prison for child sex trafficking.

In a statement to the Hollywod Reporter, Wasserman said, “I deeply regret my correspondence with Ghislaine Maxwell which took place over two decades ago, long before her horrific crimes came to light. I never had a personal or business relationship with Jeffrey Epstein. As is well documented, I went 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.”

Meanwhile, Cosentino, a Wasserman client since 2021, wrote in a letter posted to social media that her agency head’s response to the backlash was “not enough… Regret without accountability is just damage control.”

“We are tired of learning, over and over, that men who control access, resources, money and so-called safety in our industry are given endless grace,” Cosentino wrote. “We are tired of being asked to treat proximity to something horrific as an unfortunate situation we should simply move past — especially when the person involved still holds all the power.”

“This letter is my public refusal to accept that this is ‘just how things are,’” she continued.

Cosentino specified that she is “In the Sam Hunt business,” referring to her longtime agent. “I am not in the Wasserman business. I have asked to remove my name and the band’s name from the company site. The position Casey Wasserman has put his agents in is inexcusable. This is a call for him to step down and a change of business name be imminent.”

In the messages between Wasserman and Maxwell, Maxwell said she “thought of [Wasserman] at inappropriate moments,” to which Wasserman answered “I think of you all the time… So what do I have to do to see you in a tight leather outfit? I am in NY tonight, youre not, what am I to do? Xoxo cw”

Later, Wasserman wrote “I thought we would start at that place that you know of, and then continue the massage concept into your bed…and then again in the morning…not sure if or when we would stop.” She responded: “Umm – all that rubbing – are you sure you can take it? The thought frankly is leaving me a little breathless. There are a few spots that apparently drive a man wild -I suppose I could practise them on you and you could let me know if they work or not?”

Wasserman Music is a leading talent agency, representing top acts like Chappell Roan and Kendrick Lamar. Previously, Billie Eilish left Wasserman after reports surfaced of separate incidents of alleged sexual misconduct from Wasserman.

Local politicians have called for Wasserman to back away from the Olympics committee. “I think Casey Wasserman needs to step down,” said L.A. County Supervisor Janice Hahn. “Having him represent us on the world stage distracts focus from our athletes and the enormous effort needed to prepare for 2028.”

A top Los Angeles politician said Tuesday that LA 2028 Olympics committee chair Casey Wasserman should resign following revelations about racy emails he exchanged with convicted sex offender Ghislaine Maxwell.

“I think Casey Wasserman needs to step down,” said L.A. County Supervisor Janice Hahn, who along with other L.A. politicians is working with the LA28 Olympics organizing committee on planning of the Games.

“Having him represent us on the world stage distracts focus from our athletes and the enormous effort needed to prepare for 2028,” said Hahn, who represents an area of south Los Angeles County that includes coastal neighborhoods.

A representative for Wasserman didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.

Wasserman and other top officials with LA 2028, which is in charge of paying for and planning the Games, are in Italy for meetings ahead of the Winter Olympics.

Hahn’s comments follow the release of investigative files on Jeffrey Epstein released last week by the Justice Department that include personal emails exchanged more than 20 years ago between Wasserman and Maxwell, Epstein’s former romantic partner.

In emails sent in March and April 2003, Wasserman — who was married at the time — writes to Maxwell about wanting to book a massage and wanting to see her in a tight leather outfit.

She offers to give him a massage that can “drive a man wild,” and the pair discuss how much they miss each other, according to files released and posted online by the U.S. Department of Justice.

In a statement released Saturday, Wasserman said he regretted his correspondence with Maxwell, which he said occurred “long before her horrific crimes came to light.”

“I never had a personal or business relationship with Jeffrey Epstein. As is well documented, I went 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 said in the statement.

The Daily Mail in 2024 published an extensive story on Wasserman’s alleged affairs during his marriage with Laura Ziffren, whom he divorced. He denied the accusations.

Files published by the US Department of Justice included flirtatious emails between Casey Wasserman and Epstein associate Ghislaine Maxwell.

Los Angeles 2028 Olympics chief Casey Wasserman has ‍apologised for communicating with ‍convicted sex trafficker Ghislaine Maxwell more than 20 years ago, after the publication of a series of personal emails between the two.

New files related to late financier and sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, Maxwell’s former boyfriend, published by the United States Department of Justice on ⁠Friday, included flirtatious email exchanges between Wasserman, who was married at the time, and Maxwell dating ​from 2003.

Maxwell is serving a 20-year prison sentence after being found guilty in ‍2021 by a jury in New York on charges including sex trafficking of a minor. Epstein died in jail in 2019 while awaiting trial.

“I never had a personal or business relationship with Jeffrey Epstein,” Wasserman said in a ‍statement on Sunday.

“I ⁠am terribly sorry for having any association with either of them.”

Maxwell was arrested in 2020 after being accused by federal prosecutors of recruiting and grooming girls for sexual encounters with Epstein between 1994 and 2004.

“I deeply regret my correspondence with Ghislaine Maxwell,” said Wasserman, adding that it took place before her and Epstein’s crimes “came to light”.

The International Olympic Committee, which works very closely with Wasserman in preparation for the Summer Olympic Games, refused ​to comment on the matter.

“I believe Mr Wasserman has put out his ‌statement and we have nothing further to add,” IOC President Kirsty Coventry said in a press conference before the start of next week’s Milano-Cortina Olympics.

Asked whether the Wasserman emails were a distraction shortly before the Milano Games, Coventry said ‌there had been past Olympics that were dogged by stories prior to their start, such as the Zika virus before the Rio de Janeiro ‌2016 Olympics.

“Anything that is distracting from these Games is sad,” ⁠Coventry said.

“But we have learned over the many years … there has always been something that has taken the lead, leading up to the Games. What is keeping my faith alive is when the opening ceremony happens … suddenly the world remembers ‌the magic and spirit the Games have,” she said.

Wasserman is a sports and entertainment executive who has been leading the LA28 Olympic project from the bidding phase and currently serves as chairman of ‍the organising committee, which is due to deliver a progress report to the IOC session on Tuesday.

The 2028 Summer Olympics were awarded to the city in 2017.

The latest cache of investigative files on Jeffrey Epstein released Friday include personal emails exchanged more than 20 years ago between Casey Wasserman, chairman of the LA28 Olympics organizing committee, and convicted sex offender Ghislaine Maxwell, Epstein’s former romantic partner.

In emails sent in March and April 2003, Wasserman — who was married at the time — writes about wanting to see Maxwell in a tight leather outfit, she offers to give him a massage that can “drive a man wild,” and the pair discuss how much they miss each other, according to files released and posted online by the U.S. Department of Justice.

Representatives for Wasserman did not immediately respond to The Times’ request for comment Friday.

In an email sent on March 14, 2003, Maxwell describes a “tight leather flying outfit” she wore recently and said she was thinking of Wasserman in inappropriate moments. He wrote back, “I think of you all the time … So what do I have to do to see you in a tight leather outfit?”

She then promises him, “Casey — I will be coming back to NY tom late afternoon. I shall be wearing a tight leather flying suit …”

Newly released Epstein files show emails exchanged between Casey Wasserman and Ghislaine Maxwell in March and April 2003.

(U.S. Department of Justice)

The exchange, part of a trove of documents about Epstein released on Friday, reveal that Wasserman was at one time friendly with Maxwell, who was convicted in 2021 on five counts related to sex trafficking and the abuse of minors in partnership with Epstein.

Other documents show that Wasserman and his then wife flew on Epstein’s private jet in September 2002 alongside Maxwell, Epstein, former President Clinton, actor Kevin Spacey and several others as part of a 10-day trip to explore the problems of HIV in Africa. (That trip had been documented in a 2003 Vanity Fair story).

During her trial, federal prosecutors established that Maxwell and Epstein — who died by suicide while in federal custody in 2019 — were engaged in a sex-trafficking scheme involving minors from the late 1990s through the early 2000s.

In an April 2, 2003, email to Wasserman, Maxwell offers to “continue the massage concept into your bed … and then again in the morning … not sure if or when we would stop.”

Newly released Epstein files show emails exchanged between Casey Wasserman and Ghislaine Maxwell in March and April 2003.

(U.S. Department of Justice)

Later that day she writes, “Umm — all that rubbing — are you sure you can take it? The thought frankly is leaving me a little breathless. There are a few spots that apparently drive a man wild — I suppose I could practice them on you and you could let me know if they work or not?”

A few days later, Maxwell tells Wasserman that “JE” says she should pick a week to go to Los Angeles and look at properties they can rent in Malibu that summer and offers to bring Wasserman something from Paris.

Wasserman wrote back, “I think you picking a week to be in LA is a really good idea … The only thing i want from paris is you”

The pair continue their exchange on April 6, with Maxwell then offering to bring him food from London such as KitKats, cheddar and baked beans to which he says, “Among all my desires, that combination is pretty low on the list … xoxo”

She asks him what combination would do it for him and he says “You, me, and not else much …”

Wasserman then explains the concept of June gloom, California’s famous seasonal fog, and Maxwell inquires whether it would be foggy enough “so that you can float naked down the beach and no one can see you unless they are close up?”

He responds, “or something like that …”

Newly released Epstein files show emails exchanged between Casey Wasserman and Ghislaine Maxwell in March and April 2003.

(U.S. Department of Justice)

Wasserman, a UCLA alumnus, is the grandson of Hollywood mogul Lew Wasserman. He built his own fortune through his sports marketing and talent agency Wasserman, which represents more than 30 No. 1 overall picks in major sports leagues including the MLB, NFL, NBA and WNBA. In 2023, the agency acquired Brillstein Entertainment Partners, a management production company that represents stars such as Adam Sandler and Brad Pitt and launched hit shows that included “The Sopranos.”

Wasserman was recruited by former Mayor Eric Garcetti in 2017 to help Los Angeles win its Olympic host bid. While Garcetti completed his mayoral term and faded from the Olympic spotlight, Wasserman remains the face of the city’s push to host a successful Games in 2028. He has led every major Olympic update presented to the IOC and met multiple times with President Trump to secure his support.

Wasserman is expected to join an LA28 delegation in Italy for the upcoming Milan Cortina Winter Olympics, the final Games before L.A.

Epstein, 66, was once a well-connected financial consultant who rubbed shoulders with many prominent politicians and celebrities, including Trump and Clinton. He was arrested and taken into federal custody in July 2019 and charged with sex trafficking of minors and conspiracy to commit sex trafficking of minors.

The indictment alleged that, between 2002 and 2005, Epstein sexually exploited and abused dozens of underage girls at his homes in Manhattan, N.Y., and Palm Beach, Fla., and other locations, by enticing them to engage in sex acts with him for cash. It also alleged Epstein paid several of his victims to recruit other underage girls to engage in similar sex acts.

The latest documents were disclosed under the Epstein Files Transparency Act, which was enacted after months of public and political pressure and requires the government to open its files on the late financier and Maxwell. Deputy Atty. Gen. Todd Blanche said the Justice Department was releasing more than 3 million pages of documents in the latest disclosure, as well as more than 2,000 videos and 180,000 images.

Times staff writer Jenny Jarvie and the Associated Press contributed to this report.