Note: This article contains descriptions of alleged sexual misconduct.
Wednesday have left their agency, Wasserman, amid calls for the company’s founder and CEO, Casey Wasserman, to step down after his name appeared in the Jeffrey Epstein files. The band explained its decision in an open letter shared to Instagram. “Given the circumstances we feel strongly that we need to begin the process of extracting ourselves from Wasserman,” wrote Wednesday. “Continuing to be represented by a company led by and named after Casey Wasserman goes against our values and cannot continue.” Wednesday were formerly represented by Andrew Morgan at Wasserman. Read their full statement below.
On January 30, the United States government released another batch of documents pertaining to Epstein. They revealed flirtatious emails between Wasserman and Epstein’s longtime associate, Ghislaine Maxwell, who is currently in prison for conspiring with Epstein to sexually exploit underage girls.
Last week, Best Coast frontwoman Bethany Cosentino shared an open letter to Wasserman, urging him to exit the company. “I’m speaking out because pretending this is normal isn’t normal. Because people in power can’t keep skating by,” she wrote. Others affiliated with the agency, such as Beach Bunny, Salute, and a group of music agents at the company, have also threatened to resign.
Water From Your Eyes, the experimental indie rock duo from New York, are also represented by Wasserman. This afternoon, they shared a lengthy statement that says they and their manager, Nik Soelter, have “no interest in being affiliated with Casey Wasserman” and are “waiting to understand what our options are” moving forward. Water From Your Eyes also called Wasserman “a close associate of the world’s most vile and repugnant social circle and human trafficking network—not to mention his unwavering support of the genocidal Israeli state,” and called for “accountability for the atrocities committed by the ruling class.”
Alexis Krauss of Sleigh Bells, an act also represented by Wasserman, has announced that the duo will not leave the company, citing the financial impact it would have on the band. “Do I wish I could burn it all down, boycott and divest? Sure I do,” she wrote. “But to be totally honest I can’t afford to. My band can’t afford to.”
Wednesday:
Last week we were among the hundreds of artists who were aghast to find out about Casey Wasserman’s communications with Ghislaine Maxwell that were made public in the latest release of the Epstein files. We feel it’s urgent that we make several things clear in the aftermath:
- We stand with all survivors of sexual abuse and human trafficking.
- We have never met or communicated with Casey Wasserman. Not once.
- We find Casey’s attempts to deflect and dismiss this situation deeply troubling.
It’s also important that we acknowledge the team of people we work with at the Wasserman agency as decent and trustworthy people with whom we’ve worked with for several years dating back to a time prior to their connection with Wasserman.
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 his 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.
If you or someone you know has been affected by inappropriate sexual behavior, we encourage you to reach out for support:
RAINN Hotline
http://www.rainn.org
1 800 656 HOPE (4673)
Crisis Text Line
http://www.facebook.com/crisistextline (chat support)
SMS: Text “HERE” to 741-741
