{"id":250766,"date":"2026-02-10T13:49:46","date_gmt":"2026-02-10T13:49:46","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.musicbusinessworldwide.com\/?p=250766"},"modified":"2026-02-10T14:35:02","modified_gmt":"2026-02-10T14:35:02","slug":"chappell-roan-quits-wasserman-agency-after-ceos-name-surfaces-in-epstein-files","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.musicbusinessworldwide.com\/chappell-roan-quits-wasserman-agency-after-ceos-name-surfaces-in-epstein-files\/","title":{"rendered":"Chappell Roan quits Wasserman Agency after CEO\u2019s name surfaces in Epstein files"},"content":{"rendered":"

Chappell Roan has cut ties with talent agency Wasserman Music following the recent release of US Department of Justice documents that revealed correspondence between the company’s CEO and Jeffrey Epstein associate Ghislaine Maxwell.<\/p>\n

Roan announced her departure via a social media post on Monday (February 9) evening, saying she could no longer work with an agency, which is led by Casey Wasserman<\/b>, who is also the chairman of the 2028 LA Olympics.<\/a><\/p>\n

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Wasserman has not been accused of any illegal activity in connection with the documents.<\/p>\n

\u201cAs of today, I am no longer represented by Wasserman, the talent agency led by Casey Wasserman,\u201d Roan wrote.<\/p>\n

\u201cI hold my teams to the highest standards and have a duty to protect them as well. No artist, agent or employee should ever be expected to defend or overlook actions that conflict so deeply with our own moral values.\u201d<\/p>\n

She continued: \u201cI have deep respect and appreciation for the agents and staff who work tirelessly for their artists and I refuse to passively stand by. 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.\u201d<\/p>\n

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“No artist, agent or employee should ever be expected to defend or overlook actions that conflict so deeply with our own moral values.\u201d<\/p>\n

Chappell Roan<\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

The development comes after emails between Casey Wasserman and Epstein’s associate Ghislaine<\/b> Maxwell<\/b> became public.<\/p>\n

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In a statement released Saturday (February 7), Wasserman said: \u201cI deeply regret my correspondence with Ghislaine Maxwell,\u201d which he said happened \u201clong before her horrific crimes came to light.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI 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,\u201d he was quoted<\/a> by the Associated Press <\/i>as saying.<\/p>\n

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“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.\u201d<\/p>\n

Chappell Roan<\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Maxwell was sentenced<\/a> in 2022 to 20 years in prison for conspiring with Jeffrey Epstein to abuse minors. Epstein died in a New York jail cell in August 2019, one month after being indicted on federal sex-trafficking charges.<\/p>\n

Roan is among a few artists to either quit or publicly call out Wasserman in recent days. Rock band Wednesday<\/b> also announced their departure on Monday, while indie acts Beach Bunny<\/b>, Water From Your Eyes<\/b>, and Salute<\/b> have also called for accountability from Casey Wasserman,<\/b> while a group of music agents at the company threatened to resign.<\/p>\n

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Wednesday<\/b> said: “Given the circumstances we feel strongly that we need to begin the process of extracting ourselves from Wasserman. Continuing to be represented by a company led by and named after Casey Wasserman goes against our values and cannot continue. For the sake of his staff we hope that he steps down from the company and it is rebranded, but until that happens or we find a new home at a new agency we will not continue to be associated with Wasserman.”<\/p>\n

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\u201cI deeply regret my correspondence with Ghislaine Maxwell… I never had a personal or business relationship with Jeffrey Epstein.”<\/p>\n

Casey Wasserman, wasserman music<\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Water From Your Eyes<\/b> wrote: \u201cCasey Wasserman, the founder and CEO of the Wasserman agency which has been representing us since 2024, is a close associate of the world’s most vile and repugnant social circle and human trafficking network\u2014not to mention his unwavering support of the genocidal Israeli state.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cHis \u2018deepest regrets\u2019 and PR apologies mean nothing in the wake of violence against women and children caused by Jeffrey Epstein, Ghislaine Maxwell, and their accomplices. There must be accountability for the atrocities committed by the ruling class. We cannot live in a world that allows for this injustice to occur with no consequence.\u201d<\/p>\n

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“Given the circumstances we feel strongly that we need to begin the process of extracting ourselves from Wasserman… For the sake of his staff we hope that he steps down from the company and it is rebranded.”<\/p>\n

Wednesday<\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Beach Bunny<\/b> wrote on Instagram: \u201c[W]e are hugely disappointed and disgusted to learn that the founder and CEO of our booking agency Casey Wasserman had involvement with Ghislaine Maxwell, a convicted sex trafficker and fucking terrible person. Washerman’s actions are abhorrent and disturbing on every level. We are demanding for Wassermann to remove himself and his name from the agency.\u201d<\/p>\n

Roan was previously represented by Jackie Nalpant<\/b>, Kiely Mosiman<\/b>, Adele Slater<\/b>, and Anna Bewers<\/b> at Wasserman Music.<\/p>\n

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Wasserman represents hundreds of artists including Kendrick Lamar<\/b>, SZA<\/b>, Ed Sheeran<\/b>, Coldplay<\/b>, and Tyler, the Creator.<\/b> The agency removed its artist roster from its website over the weekend as the controversy intensified, according to Pitchfork.<\/i><\/i><\/p>\n

In 2024, Billie Eilish<\/b> left Wasserman Music for rival agency William Morris Endeavor<\/b> (WME) in the wake of a tabloid scandal surrounding Casey Wasserman. An August 1, 2024\u00a0report<\/a>\u00a0in the\u00a0Daily Mail<\/i> described Casey Wasserman as a \u201cserial cheater\u201d. The Mail<\/i> said it had 11 unnamed sources for the report, \u201cincluding some of [Wasserman\u2019s] mistresses.\u201d<\/p>\n

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\u201c[Casey Wasserman’s] \u2018deepest regrets\u2019 and PR apologies mean nothing in the wake of violence against women and children caused by Jeffrey Epstein, Ghislaine Maxwell, and their accomplices.”<\/p>\n

Water From Your eyes<\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Wasserman Music launched in 2021 after Wasserman completed its acquisition of Paradigm Talent Agency<\/b>\u2019s North American live music representation business.<\/p>\n

In July 2025, Wasserman expanded its Artist Services and Communications teams with the addition of Lydia Barry<\/b>\u00a0as VP, Marketing & Communications, Emily Kennedy<\/b>\u00a0as VP, Business Development, Pop, and\u00a0Michael Delle Donne<\/b> as VP, Digital Partnerships.<\/p>\n

Then in November, Wasserman expanded its UK operation with a series of new hires across tour marketing, artist services and artist representation, as the agency continues to build out its global footprint. The team now includes Paul Ryan<\/b>\u00a0as Senior Vice President and Agent, Chris Lander<\/b>\u00a0as Vice President within its artist services division, Rebecca Laurie<\/b> as Manager on the Tour Marketing team, and Laura<\/b> Flynn<\/b> as Manager, Tour Marketing.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

‘As of today, I am no longer represented by Wasserman, the talent agency led by Casey Wasserman,’ Roan confirmed in a statement on February 9<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":38,"featured_media":223610,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[135052,133198,135053,130066],"class_list":["post-250766","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news","tag-casey-wasserman","tag-chappell-roan","tag-jeffrey-epstein","tag-wasserman-music"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.musicbusinessworldwide.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/250766","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.musicbusinessworldwide.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.musicbusinessworldwide.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.musicbusinessworldwide.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/38"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.musicbusinessworldwide.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=250766"}],"version-history":[{"count":11,"href":"https:\/\/www.musicbusinessworldwide.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/250766\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":250820,"href":"https:\/\/www.musicbusinessworldwide.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/250766\/revisions\/250820"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.musicbusinessworldwide.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/223610"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.musicbusinessworldwide.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=250766"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.musicbusinessworldwide.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=250766"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.musicbusinessworldwide.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=250766"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}