On Thursday (Feb. 5), Best Coast frontwoman Bethany Cosentino was the first artist signed to the powerful Wasserman agency to speak out over revelations that its founder and CEO, Casey Wasserman, had carried on a flirtatious relationship with convicted sex trafficker Ghislaine Maxwell — the main accomplice of convicted child sex predator Jeffrey Epstein — after the latest tranche of 3 million files in the Epstein case was released. Expressing anger over Wasserman’s apology, in which the executive said he “deeply regret[s]” his communications with Maxwell, Cosentino called for Wasserman to step down from his post and for the agency to change its name, among other demands.
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Since Cosentino’s Instagram post went live, several more artists — mainly indie acts — have responded to the controversy. Though these responses have varied somewhat, most have either announced their exit from the agency over the revelations or seemingly threatened to leave if Wasserman isn’t held accountable for his actions. Nearly all have expressed support for their agents. On Monday evening (Feb. 9), Chappell Roan became the first major star to speak out on the issue, writing that she had left the agency amid the growing outrage (without explicity mentioning Epstein or Maxwell).
The growing number of artist defections is now continuing to snowball into a major issue for Wasserman and his namesake agency, which represents such superstars as Ed Sheeran, Coldplay, SZA, Noah Kahan, Lorde and Kenny Chesney. Will any of those other big acts follow Roan’s lead?
Below, we’ve rounded up every Wasserman artist who has spoken out on the issue. We’ll continue updating the list as more of them make their feelings known.
