Chappell Roan Exits Wasserman Agency Following Epstein Fallout: 'I Refuse to Passively Stand By'

[highplainsdem]

Source: Rolling Stone

Chappell Roan has joined a group of artists walking away from music talent agency Wasserman Group following the revelation of risqué emails exchanged between its founder Casey Wasserman and convicted sex offender Ghislaine Maxwell in the latest tranche of Jeffrey Epstein files released by the Justice Department.

“As of today, I am no longer represented by Wasserman, the talent agency led by Casey Wasserman. I hold my teams to the highest standards and have a duty to protect them as well,” wrote Roan in an Instagram Stories post on Monday, Feb. 9. “No artist, agent or employee should ever be expected to defend or overlook actions that conflict so deeply with our own moral values. I have deep respect and appreciation for the agents and staff who work tirelessly for their artists and I refuse to passively stand by.”

Roan, who has championed for better health insurance and treatment of artists during her 2025 Grammys speech, added on Monday’s announcement that “Artists deserve representation that aligns with their values and supports their safety and dignity.” The musician ended her note by saying the decision “reflects my belief that meaningful change in our industry requires accountability and leadership that earns trust.”

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Los Angeles officials have called on Wasserman to resign as chairman of the organizing committee for the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics. “I think Casey Wasserman needs to step down,” L.A. County Supervisor Janice Hahn said in a statement to Rolling Stone. “Having him represent us on the world stage distracts focus from our athletes and the enormous effort needed to prepare for 2028.”


Read more: https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-news/chappell-roan-exits-wasserman-agency-epstein-fallout-1235513841/

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More from The Hollywood Reporter:

https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/business/business-news/casey-wasserman-epstein-fallout-1236500784/

Sources tell The Hollywood Reporter that multiple artists are considering cutting ties with the management firm, which greatly expanded its footprint into music representation five years ago with a major buy of Paradigm’s North American live music unit. Best Coast’s Cosentino, one client that had been brought over in that deal, wrote that her loyalties lie with her agent, Sam Hunt, not with Wasserman as a firm. (Another of those clients from the Paradigm deal, Billie Eilish, had already departed Wasserman in 2024 after a Daily Mail article alleged the CEO had inappropriate relationships with employees.) The comments mark a rare case of artists publicly calling on a top executive to step down from a company, one whose name is not only on the side of the building but in their agents’ email address and how the company touts itself (“Team Wass”).

Efforts are afoot by some of his own agents to buy out the music side of his representation business to spin it off into an independent branded agency without the Wasserman name. It’s unclear where those discussions now stand. Wasserman has counted Providence Equity Partners as a strategic investor since 2022, replacing earlier backers RedBird and Madrone Capital. The company declined to comment for this story.

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Wasserman’s emails to Maxwell from spring 2003 include her sharing that she’d been thinking of him “at inappropriate moments,” to which he responded, “I think of you all the time… So what do I have to do to se you in a tight leather outfit? I am in NY tonight, youre not, what am I to do? Xoxo cw.”

In his apology, Wasserman noted, “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.”

That trip to Africa is a problem for him (and Clinton) because a doctor on the plane, Clinton's emergency physician, had told the FBI there were four young women in their early 20s on the plane and "No one knew why they were there as everyone else had a purpose."

Wasserman exchanged a lot of emails with Maxwell, including requesting a massage. He was married at the time, had been married only a couple of years.

[hlthe2b]

1. Good, I guess but she seems a paradox...

I don't know her music, but I do recall her bare breast nipple ring dress at the Grammys a Sunday or two ago. I have no intention of "Sl>t" shaming, but there is a paradox it seems to me. (and yes, many thought her dress and arriving bare-breasted was fine. Call me a prude, but I'm not one of them).

[TommyT139]

2. Doesn't sound like slut shaming to me...

...since you're criticizing what she decided to wear on the red carpet, not with whom or how often she has sex.

It doesn't make sense to me to connect the two at all, though. In choosing to leave her agent, she is standing up for the right of women to have bodily autonomy. "Whatever we wear, wherever we go, yes means yes, and no means no," as the chant goes.

During her speech at the Grammys, she spoke out about access to health insurance. She also wore a different dress, when presenting an award; both dresses did their jobs.

If it matters, the dress that is the source of so much discussion employed an illusion: those were not her nipples, but prosthetic -- and she doesn't have nipple piercings. The Mugler dress was suspended from piercings which were attached to the prosthetic pasties.

A big hit, which has become a queer anthem, is Pink Pony Club. Great song, catchy and upbeat.
https://m.

[Fiendish Thingy]

3. She is an Icon in the LGBTQ+ community

Although AFAIK, she is straight.

Her best known song, Pink Pony Club is about finding sanctuary, identity and community at a gay club.

I’m a straight white male boomer, and I like the song.

?si=opJd9K2fNnV-JlQM

Glad to see her walking the walk.

As for her Grammys dress/undress, she is following in the footsteps of Madonna and Lady GaGa being a master at controlling the attention in the room.

[AZJonnie]

4. Why is it a problem for Bill that women in their 20's were also on Epstein's plane in 2002?

Unless they were with Clinton or Wasserman, why is it their responsibility, or reflect badly on them? It's not their plane. Also, Clinton went nowhere without the Secret Service in tow

Point of fact, the long-time pilots of Epstein's plane (since 1991) testified under oath, as witnesses for the prosecution (Garlands DoJ) at Maxwell's 2022 trial. They said that they were always 100% free to move about the cabin at all times, often did so, and that they were never told by JE/GM that any portion of the plane was private/off-limits, and that they never saw witnessed any sexual activity, nor saw or heard about any signs that any sex had happened on the plane (condom wrappers, sex toys, porn vids, etc).

They also testified under oath that Virginia Guiffre was to the best of their knowledge the only unaccompanied minor they ever ferried for Epstein (having later found out she was 17), but that's a separate point as these women were over 20.