The Epstein files come for Hollywood royalty

Casey Wasserman was literally born to be a titan of the Hollywood industry.

This week, the powerhouse talent agent has faced a revolt after appearing in the Epstein files, for both riding on the late convicted sex offender’s plane and exchanging suggestive messages with Jeffrey Epstein’s former girlfriend and convicted accomplice, Ghislaine Maxwell.

The slow trickle exploded into public view this week after singer Chappell Roan announced she was leaving Wasserman’s eponymous talent agency. Singer Orville Peck quickly followed, and then singer-songwriter Weyes Blood, among others.

While Wasserman has not been accused by authorities of any wrongdoing, he is facing pressure from both his talent and his talent’s agents to step aside. CNN reached out to more than 70 artists on Wasserman Agency’s roster seeking comment. None chose to reply.

Wasserman will likely choose tactics from a playbook that will seem familiar to anyone who has seen a powerful man in a crisis. He can work with a crisis PR company behind the scenes; he can stay quiet in the hopes that another crisis will take center stage in the public conversation; he can address the matter publicly in a limited fashion when his advisors think it best. He also faces a choice to stay with or to leave his own agency, which may or may not need renaming.

Wasserman also serves as head of the coordinating committee for the 2028 Olympic Games in Los Angeles, and despite a number of LA officials calling for him to step aside from that role, the LA28 Executive Board told CNN in a statement Wednesday that after “reviewing any concerns related to the organization’s leadership,” it has determined that Wasserman “should continue to lead LA28 and deliver a safe and successful Games.”

CNN has contacted Wasserman’s agency and a crisis communication firm representing him for comment.