Wasserman Agency has rebranded under the name The Team after its founder and former CEO was named in the Jeffrey Epstein files earlier this year.
Casey Wasserman faced controversy in January when his email correspondence with convicted sex trafficker Ghislaine Maxwell from over 20 years ago was published. The messages featured in the latest government files on the late child sex offender and human trafficker Epstein.
Wasserman responded by saying he “deeply regrets” the emails from 2003 between him and Maxwell. He claimed that they had been sent “long before her horrific crimes came to light”.
Numerous acts subsequently severed ties with Wasserman Agency, including Chappell Roan, Water From Your Eyes and Wednesday. Later, the likes of Weyes Blood, Orville Peck and Chelsea Cutler followed suit.
Wasserman is currently selling his namesake agency amid the escalating fallout. He confirmed last month that Wasserman Agency president Mike Watts would assume day-to-day control of the business. Wasserman is now focused on his role leading the Los Angeles 2028 Olympic and Paralympic Games organising committee.
As Variety reports, Wasserman Agency’s website redirected to a new URL and temporarily displayed the message: “As of today, Wasserman is rebranding as The·Team and you can now find us at the.team.
“For 24 years, this company has been shaped by our work, our people and our unifying belief in the power of Sports, Music and Entertainment. That philosophy remains the foundation of who we are – and where we are going. We go forward as we always have: Together.”
In a separate statement to The Hollywood Reporter, the company said: “We remain completely focused on serving our clients with the same professionalism that has always been our standard.”
Wasserman Agency has rebranded its official social media channels, too. Sharing a new logo on Instagram yesterday (Monday March 9), the firm wrote: “To our partners, team members, friends and community, thank you. While our dedication to the service of our clients remains unchanged, we have a new name. We’d like to reintroduce you to THE·TEAM.”
The new website now displays the following message on the homepage: “We believe in the unifying power of Sports, Music and Entertainment.”
View this post on Instagram
Upon announcing his plans to sell the agency, Wasserman said the controversy around him had “become a distraction” from the company. “That is why I have begun the process of selling the company, an effort that is already underway,” he wrote.
He also apologised to his employees, saying: “I’m deeply sorry that my past personal mistakes have caused you so much discomfort. 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.”
The Wasserman company is a sports and talent agency that also represents the likes of Ed Sheeran, Coldplay, Kendrick Lamar and Lorde. It reps major actors such as Brad Pitt and Adam Sandler, too, as well as some big players in football, basketball and baseball.
In early February, Best Coast’s Bethany Cosentino – who has been represented by Wasserman since its expansion into music in 2021 – urged Wasserman to step down after he appeared in the Epstein files.
Alexis Krauss of Sleigh Bells, who are represented by Wasserman, confirmed that the duo would not be leaving the company, citing the financial impact the decision would have on them. “Do I wish I could burn it all down, boycott and divest?” Krauss said. “Sure I do? But to be totally honest I can’t afford to. My band can’t afford to.”
Chappell Roan wrote that she “refuse[d] to passively stand by” when sharing her decision to part ways with the agency: “I hold my teams to the highest standards and have a duty to protect them as well. No artist, agent or employee should ever be expected to defend or overlook actions that conflict so deeply with our own moral values.”
Wasserman’s emails to Maxwell were flirtatious in nature, with one reading: “I think of you all the time. So, what do I have to do to see you in a tight leather outfit?” Maxwell also offered to give Wasserman – who was married at the time – a massage that can “drive a man wild”.
Maxwell was convicted on five counts of sex trafficking and abuse of minors in 2021. She is currently serving a 20-year prison sentence. Epstein was arrested in July 2019 for sex trafficking, and was found dead in his jail cell in August of that year. Authorities later determined that he had hanged himself.
Wasserman, who is the 2028 Olympics chief, also claimed that he “never had a personal or business relationship with Jeffrey Epstein” in his statement regarding the emails from the files.
The post Wasserman Agency rebrands to The Team after Epstein controversy appeared first on NME.