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Los Angeles mayor Karen Bass has called on Casey Wasserman to step down as chairman of the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics after he appeared in the Jeffrey Epstein files.
Wasserman, 51, has not been accused of any wrongdoing in connection with Epstein, but documents released by the Justice Department revealed that in 2003, he exchanged flirtatious emails with Ghislaine Maxwell.
The Hollywood mogul discussed ‘massages,’ ‘rubbing’ and naked beach frolics with Epstein’s partner in crime, who is currently serving a 20-year prison sentence for her role in Epstein’s trafficking and abuse.
The revelations sparked an exodus of talent from the Wasserman agency, including singer Chappell Roan and US soccer great Abby Wambach.
Amid the controversy, Wasserman recently announced he is putting his talent company up for sale, while some local officials have called for him to step down from his post as organizing committee chairman.
Now, in an interview with CNN on Monday, Bass piled further pressure on the talent mogul. ‘I cannot fire him, but I have an opinion,’ Bass said. ‘And my opinion is that he should step down. That’s not the opinion of the board.’
Casey Wasserman is facing calls to step down as chairman of the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics organizing committee
He exchanged flirtatious emails with Ghislaine Maxwell, who is behind bars for grooming, trafficking, and abusing minors with Jeffrey Epstein
Los Angeles mayor Karen Bass said of Wasserman: ‘My opinion is that he should step down’
Her comments come just days after the LA28 executive committee voted to keep Wasserman in post.
The committee met last Wednesday and said that, with help from an outside legal firm, it conducted a review of Wasserman’s past interactions with Epstein and Maxwell, with Wasserman’s full cooperation.
‘We found Mr. Wasserman’s relationship with Epstein and Maxwell did not go beyond what has already been publicly documented,’ the board’s executive committee said in a statement.
‘The Executive Committee of the Board has determined that based on these facts, as well as the strong leadership he has exhibited over the past ten years, Mr. Wasserman should continue to lead LA28 and deliver a safe and successful Games.’
On Monday, Bass responded: ‘The board made a decision. I think that decision was unfortunate. I don’t support the decision. I do think that we need to look at the leadership.’
The IOC, meanwhile, recently declined to put any additional public pressure on Wasserman to step aside.
Wasserman issued an apology after the emails were disclosed. He said he regretted his correspondence with Maxwell, ‘which took place over two decades ago, long before her horrific crimes came to light.’
The 51-year-old sent a memo to his staff on Friday admitting that his past relationship with Epstein’s accomplice Maxwell had ‘become a distraction,’ reported the Los Angeles Times.
Long-time executive Mike Watts will take over daily operations of the agency, while the sports and music executive focuses on the sale.
Wasserman told employees he was ‘heartbroken that my brief contact with them 23 years ago has caused you, this company, and its clients so much hardship over the past days and weeks.’
Wasserman was less than two years into his marriage to then-wife Laura Ziffren when he swapped flirtatious messages with Maxwell
USWNT legend Abby Wambach recently announced that she is leaving the Wasserman agency
‘I’m deeply sorry that my past personal mistakes have caused you so much discomfort,’ Wasserman wrote to his staff in a memo obtained by the Wall Street Journal.
‘It’s not fair to you, and it’s not fair to the clients and partners we represent so vigorously and care so deeply about.’
Wasserman has claimed to ‘never have had a personal or business relationship with Jeffrey Epstein.’
Wasserman has said he flew on a humanitarian mission to Africa on Epstein’s private plane at the invitation of the Clinton Foundation in 2002. His then-wife Laura was with him.
‘This was his single interaction with Epstein,’ the executive committee said. ‘Shortly after, he traded the publicly-known emails with Maxwell.’
Among the exchanges included was Wasserman telling Maxwell, ‘I think of you all the time. So, what do I have to do to see you in a tight leather outfit?’
