Wasserman, the Westwood-based sports, talent and marketing agency, is on the auction block, according to news reports.  

Reuters reported that Founder and Chief Executive Casey Wasserman shared in a memo to his staff that he planned to sell his namesake agency amid the fallout over his relationship with convicted sex trafficker Ghislaine Maxwell and late financier Jeffrey Epstein. Wasserman – who is also chairman of the 2028 Los Angeles Olympic and Paralympic organizing committee, known as LA28 – said he has “become a distraction” to the company’s daily operations and that he “has begun the process of selling the company” which employs roughly 4,000 people across sports, music and entertainment divisions.

“This organization, its leadership and the entire team mean the world to me,” Wasserman wrote to his staff, according
to Deadline. “Our clients expect – and deserve – world-class representation. And that’s exactly what they get because of all of you.”  

Growing backlash

The decision comes after newly released documents from the U.S. Justice Department showed email exchanges from 2003 between Wasserman and Maxwell, sparking a growing backlash within the agency and among its clients. Pop artist Chappell Roan, soccer legend Abby Wambach and rock band Imagine Dragons have reportedly severed ties with the agency in the last week. The Wrap reported that a group of music agents at the firm threatened to leave unless Wasserman sold the business and left the company altogether.  

In his memo, Wasserman said President and Chief Operating Officer Mike Watts will “assume day-to-day control of the business.”  

Providence Equity Partners, the firm’s majority stakeholder, told The Wrap that it fully supports the leadership transition and remains committed to the company’s long-term growth. The investment firm, which owns about 60% of the agency, plans to rename it after Wasserman divests his stake in his namesake agency, according to The Wrap.  

Wasserman said that he plans to focus on his chairmanship of the LA28 – a role that stands for now. LA28’s executive committee and outside counsel conducted a review of Wasserman’s past communications and affirmed there was no undisclosed misconduct, supporting his continuation as chair. 

However, Mayor Karen Bass and a handful of political leaders in the city have called for Wasserman to resign, raising concerns about the organizing committee’s reputation. 

“I cannot fire him, but I have an opinion,” Bass told CNN in an interview. “And my opinion is that he should step down.”