Wasserman Fallout Continues: Dropkick Murphys & More Clients Slam Founder Over ‘Abhorrent & Disturbing’ Epstein Ties
In the wake of a public demand from Best Coast singer Bethany Cosentino for Casey Wasserman to step down as CEO of his powerful Wasserman agency, over a dozen prominent indie acts have joined her in calling for accountability. The list includes Water From Your Eyes, Wednesday, Beach Bunny, and Dropkick Murphys.
Following the release of more than 3 million files related to the Epstein investigation on January 30, it was revealed that Wasserman had exchanged dozens of friendly, flirtatious, and occasionally sexually-charged emails with Ghislaine Maxwell in 2003. Previously known were Wasserman's ties to Epstein himself: More than two decades ago, several years before Epstein's crimes were known to the public, New York reported that Wasserman and his then-wife, Laura Ziffren, flew on Epstein's plane on an AIDS fact-finding mission to Africa in 2002.
In response to the mounting criticism, Wasserman issued a statement, saying, "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."
However, Wasserman's apology has been met with skepticism by several artists who have severed ties with the agency. Dropkick Murphys announced via Instagram that they had already parted ways with the Wasserman agency over the issue, stating, "It saddens us to part ways with [our agents], but the namesake of the agency is in the Epstein files so…we GONE."
Other artists who have distanced themselves from Wasserman include Water From Your Eyes vocalist Rachel Brown and rock band Wednesday. Beach Bunny also released a statement expressing disappointment and disgust over Wasserman's association with Maxwell, saying that his actions are "abhorrent and disturbing on every level" and that he must "remove himself and his name from the agency."
Sleigh Bells' Alexis Kruass took a more nuanced approach to the situation, arguing that cutting ties with Wasserman would only hurt the band financially without moving the needle. She wrote, "Would I love to just leave Wasserman Music? Yes I would. Can we? No because I love and respect our agent and I trust him to make the decision that is best for himself, his family and his artists."
Kruass also acknowledged the hypocrisy of the situation, saying, "This is the reality of our system. We try to do the least harm in an unscrupulous industry." However, she emphasized that without systemic change and accountability for those at the highest levels of power, no meaningful change will occur.
As the fallout continues, Wasserman's representatives have yet to respond to requests for comment.
In the wake of a public demand from Best Coast singer Bethany Cosentino for Casey Wasserman to step down as CEO of his powerful Wasserman agency, over a dozen prominent indie acts have joined her in calling for accountability. The list includes Water From Your Eyes, Wednesday, Beach Bunny, and Dropkick Murphys.
Following the release of more than 3 million files related to the Epstein investigation on January 30, it was revealed that Wasserman had exchanged dozens of friendly, flirtatious, and occasionally sexually-charged emails with Ghislaine Maxwell in 2003. Previously known were Wasserman's ties to Epstein himself: More than two decades ago, several years before Epstein's crimes were known to the public, New York reported that Wasserman and his then-wife, Laura Ziffren, flew on Epstein's plane on an AIDS fact-finding mission to Africa in 2002.
In response to the mounting criticism, Wasserman issued a statement, saying, "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."
However, Wasserman's apology has been met with skepticism by several artists who have severed ties with the agency. Dropkick Murphys announced via Instagram that they had already parted ways with the Wasserman agency over the issue, stating, "It saddens us to part ways with [our agents], but the namesake of the agency is in the Epstein files so…we GONE."
Other artists who have distanced themselves from Wasserman include Water From Your Eyes vocalist Rachel Brown and rock band Wednesday. Beach Bunny also released a statement expressing disappointment and disgust over Wasserman's association with Maxwell, saying that his actions are "abhorrent and disturbing on every level" and that he must "remove himself and his name from the agency."
Sleigh Bells' Alexis Kruass took a more nuanced approach to the situation, arguing that cutting ties with Wasserman would only hurt the band financially without moving the needle. She wrote, "Would I love to just leave Wasserman Music? Yes I would. Can we? No because I love and respect our agent and I trust him to make the decision that is best for himself, his family and his artists."
Kruass also acknowledged the hypocrisy of the situation, saying, "This is the reality of our system. We try to do the least harm in an unscrupulous industry." However, she emphasized that without systemic change and accountability for those at the highest levels of power, no meaningful change will occur.
As the fallout continues, Wasserman's representatives have yet to respond to requests for comment.
i'm so disappointed in Wasserman he was always so respected in the music industry and now it seems like his connection to Epstein is just too much to handle 
i feel bad for all the artists who are being affected by this scandal, but at the same time i think they have every right to be angry 
dropkick murphys are making a great statement by cutting ties with the agency though 
and beach bunny's response is just so honest and raw 
everyone should be calling out Wasserman for his actions and holding him accountable 
we need more people like Bethany Cosentino speaking up against this kind of abuse of power 
like seriously who was thinking it was a good idea to associate with Ghislaine Maxwell?? Wasserman's apology is so weak, like he's just trying to whitewash his connection to Epstein without actually owning up to it 
. And honestly, I kinda feel bad for the artists who are getting left in the dust because of this scandal - like, can't they afford their own representation now? 
, they have this one coffee bean that's literally out of this world! Anyway, I was thinking about how Wasserman's whole situation reminds me of when I tried to quit smoking years ago... all those emails and meetings with his wife ( Laura Ziffren) flying on Epstein's plane just blows my mind 
. Anyway, dropkick Murphys are totally right to part ways with the agency... but can we talk about Sleigh Bells' nuanced take on this whole thing instead? 
like i get why people are upset about casey wasserman's ties to epstein and ghislaine maxwell but isn't it a bit hypocritical that some of these artists are still working with record labels that have major connections to the music industry? 
aren't we trying to call out the bad guys here? 
he even said he had no personal biz relation with Epstein but theres still some weirdness going on wassermans agency needs to step up their game tho 
like what happened to Prince in 2016, you know when everyone was all about 'nothing but love and peace' and then BAM, someone's dark secrets come out? now Wasserman's getting slammed by artists over his ties to Epstein... it's crazy how fast people move from "we didn't know" to "get them outta here" 
i mean, i'm not saying Wasserman did anything wrong or that he deserves this kinda heat, but the fact remains that he was friends with Maxwell and even flew on Epstein's plane back in the day... it's just weird how that works out 
. It's not just about the fact that he exchanged flirtatious emails with Ghislaine Maxwell in 2003, but also his association with Epstein himself. Like, how could he not know what was going on with Epstein? And Wasserman's apology doesn't exactly fill me with confidence 
. Some of these artists are totally right to distance themselves from the agency and I hope more follow suit 
.
.
.
i'm low-key impressed that some artists are calling him out for his ties to epstein - maybe it's about time someone held him accountable 