Musicians leave Wasserman

It has come to my attention that the founder and CEO of my agency, Casey Wasserman, had a documented romantic relationship with Ghislaine Maxwell between the years 2001 and 2003, and multiple documented connections and communications with Jeffrey Epstein confirmed by emails now part of public record. Ghislaine Maxwell is not a neutral character in a messy story – she is a convicted sex trafficker who helped facilitate the abuse of minors. 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. Staying quiet isn’t something I can do in good conscience – especially in a moment when men in power are not often protected, excused, or allowed to move on without consequence. Pretending this isn’t a big deal is not an option for me.

Casey’s response, that these emails are “deeply regretted,” is not enough. 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. 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.

Artists are not interchangeable assets. We are people. Many of us are women. Many of us, myself included, are survivors. We deserve systems that let us work without asking us to compromise our values in exchange for opportunity.

This letter is my public refusal to accept that this is “just how things are.” It is a refusal to continue lining the pockets of people so closely tied to shady business and toxic, deeply harmful people. I do not want my name on the website of a man who was ever a personal friend of an accomplice to a literal pedophile, or associated with Jeffrey Epstein himself. I have worked with my agent, Sam Hunt, for over 15 years who has done incredible work in representing me. I am in the Sam Hunt business. I am not in the Wasserman business. I have asked to remove my name and band’s name from the company’s site. The position Casey Wasserman has put his agents in is excusable. This is a call for him to step down and a change of business name be imminent.

I’m speaking out because pretending this is normal isn’t normal. 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.