Chappell Roan has quit booking agency Wasserman Music after emails from founder and CEO Casey Wasserman were included in the most recent release of documents relating to convicted pedophile Jeffrey Epstein. In a statement on Instagram, Roan wrote that “no artist, agent or employee should ever be expected to defend or overlook actions that conflict so deeply with our own moral values”.
The emails, from 2003, were actually between Wasserman and Epstein accomplice and convicted sex trafficker Ghislaine Maxwell. Although flirtatious in nature, the messages did not relate to any criminal conduct and were exchanged - as Wasserman has stressed in his own statement - “long before Maxwell’s horrific crimes came to light”.
However, that hasn’t stopped some of the company’s agents calling on Wasserman to step down as CEO, according to The Wrap. Meanwhile several artists represented by the agency, including Beach Bunny, Dropkick Murphys, Wednesday and Water From Your Eyes, have criticised Wasserman’s past connections to Maxwell and, by association, Epstein. The agency chief also once flew on Epstein’s plane as part of a trip organised by the Clinton Foundation.
Chappel Roan’s statement alluded to, although didn’t explicitly reference, the controversy around Wasserman’s Epstein connections. She said, “I hold my teams to the highest standards and have a duty to protect them as well”.
She then went on, “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”.
Wasserman’s earlier statement on his appearance in the Epstein files, published the day after the US government released the latest documents, said, “I deeply regret my correspondence with Ghislaine Maxwell which took place over two decades ago, long before her horrific crimes came to light".
He continued, “I never had a personal or business relationship with Jeffrey Epstein”, before adding, “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”.
Wasserman’s sports marketing and talent management company entered the music industry in 2021 when it bought the US music division of the Paradigm talent agency, subsequently also acquiring the Paradigm UK music agency, which was originally known as Coda.
