Best Coast’s Bethany Cosentino has implored Casey Wasserman to step down after he appeared in the Epstein files.
Epstein was arrested in July 2019 for sex trafficking and was found dead in his jail cell in August of that year, with authorities later determining that he hanged himself. Following his death, a sustained campaign emerged, pushing for the full publication of all documents and photos that would reveal the high-profile names he associated with.
Last Friday (January 30), the Department of Justice (DOJ) released some three million documents from the Epstein files, along with 2,000 videos and roughly 180,000 images. The release is the latest in a slew of material released under the Epstein Files Transparency Act, a law intended to reveal information collected during two decades of investigations involving the late convicted paedophile.
In an open letter posted to Instagram on Thursday (February 5), Cosentino – who has been represented by Wasserman since its expansion into music in 2021 – highlighted his 2003 correspondence with Ghislaine Maxwell, who was convicted of sex trafficking in December 2021, as well as other similar charges relating to procuring underage girls for Epstein.
She was sentenced in June 2022 to 20 years imprisonment, and has maintained her innocence throughout. “As an artist represented by Wasserman, I did not consent to having my name or my career tied to someone with this kind of association to exploitation,” Cosentino wrote.
Wasserman is the founder and CEO of Wasserman Music, who rep the likes of Ed Sheeran, Billie Eilish, Coldplay, Imagine Dragons, Lorde and more.
“Staying quiet isn’t something I can do in good conscience, especially in a moment when men in power are so often protected, excused, or allowed to move on without consequence. Pretending this isn’t a big deal is not an option for me.”
Wasserman’s emails to Maxwell were outwardly flirtatious in tone. Per Variety, one email saw him ask, “So, what do I have to do to see you in a tight leather outfit?”, and in another, Maxwell offers Wasserman a massage that could “drive a man wild”.
After the emails came to light earlier this week, Wasserman, also the chairman of the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics committee, issued an apology.
“I deeply regret my correspondence with Ghislaine Maxwell which took place over two decades ago, long before her horrific crimes came to light,” he said. “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. I am terribly sorry for having any association with either of them.”
This, Cosentino says, is not enough to absolve him. “Regret without accountability is just damage control — an attempt to move on while the rest of us are expected to sit with the discomfort of our careers being publicly tied to him,” she wrote. “Artists are tired of swallowing scandals like this. We are tired of learning, over and over, that men who control access, resources, money and so-called safety in our industry are given endless grace.
“We are tired of being asked to treat proximity to something horrific as an unfortunate situation we should simply move past – especially when the person involved still holds all the power. And we are tired of watching harm minimized or brushed off as ‘a long time ago,’ while the impact of that harm is still very real, especially for women and survivors of sexual assault.”
Cosentino said she has asked to remove both her and Best Coast’s name from the Wasserman Music website, as well as demanding that he step down and for the business to change its name. Representatives for Wasserman and Wasserman Music did not immediately respond to Variety‘s request for comment on Cosentino’s letter.
“I’m speaking out because pretending this is normal isn’t normal,” she continued. “Because people in power can’t keep skating by. And because the artists keeping the lights on at Wasserman deserve support, not to be ignored while men in power are protected. It is important for us as artists to remember: these people work for us, not the other way around.”
Her open letter follows the latest batch of files related to Epstein including mention of entertainment world figures including Jay-Z, Pusha T and Harvey Weinstein.
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For help, advice or more information regarding sexual harassment, assault and rape in the UK, visit the Rape Crisis charity website. In the US, visit RAINN.
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