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  • Casey Wasserman to Sell Agency Amid Epstein Files Backlash

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    Note: This article contains descriptions of alleged sexual misconduct.

    Casey Wasserman is selling his eponymous talent agency, per the Wall Street Journal. The move arrives after the Wasserman Group founder and CEO’s name appeared in the Jeffrey Epstein files, prompting calls for his resignation and the departure of artists including Chappell Roan, Wednesday, and Weyes Blood from his firm.

    Wasserman reportedly announced the sale on Friday (February 13) in a memo to staff, noting that he had “become a distraction” to Wasserman Group’s work. Longtime agency executive Mike Watts will lead day-to-day operations going forward, while Wasserman, who is the chairman of the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics, focuses on planning the games.

    “I’m deeply sorry that my past personal mistakes have caused you so much discomfort,” the memo, reviewed by the New York Times, read. “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.” Pitchfork has reached out to Wasserman and the agency for comment.

    The Department of Justice released the files containing Casey Wasserman’s name on January 30, after which he issued an initial apology. The documents revealed flirtatious emails between Wasserman and Ghislaine Maxwell and details of a 2002 flight Wasserman took to Africa on Epstein’s private plane, as part of a humanitarian trip organized by former President Bill Clinton. Maxwell is serving a 20-year federal prison sentence for conspiring with Epstein to sexually abuse minor girls; Epstein died by suicide in a New York jail in 2019 after he was convicted of sex trafficking.

    The revelation of Wasserman’s association with Epstein and Maxwell has triggered significant fallout at his company, with Wasserman-represented artists Bethany Cosentino, Beach Bunny, Water From Your Eyes, and Salute demanding he step down as CEO. “I did not consent to having my name or my career tied to someone with this kind of association to exploitation,” Cosentino wrote. Since the release of the files, Odesza, Orville Peck, Local Natives, Bully’s Alicia Bognanno, Dropkick Murphys, and Chelsea Cutler have all cut ties with the firm.

    Wasserman founded his agency in 2002; the talent management group oversees hundreds of high-profile musicians and sports players, including Kendrick Lamar, Coldplay, Skrillex, and Animal Collective. Last weekend, an artist roster was removed from Wasserman’s website.


    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

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    Hattie Lindert

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  • Lemonheads’ Fan Accuses Evan Dando of Sending Unsolicited Explicit Videos

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    Note: This article contains descriptions of alleged sexual misconduct that may disturb some readers.

    A Lemonheads’ fan says singer Evan Dando sent her a series of unsolicited, sexually explicit videos via X. After the story was broken on Tony Ortega’s The Underground Bunker—a blog that typically focuses on exposing Scientologists—a representative for Dando issued the following statement: “Evan Dando has long struggled with mental health issues dating back to his childhood. He’s been admitted to a local hospital where he’s receiving comprehensive help from experienced doctors and mental health professionals.”

    A woman pseudonymously identified as Dawn told Ortega that she used to tweet “back and forth” with Dando, usually about art. Last October, when the Lemonheads released Love Chant, Dawn says she sent Dando a congratulatory message. He did not reply until February 4, according to a screenshot of the messages on the blog, which Pitchfork is unable to independently verify. The note reads, “Cool I’m sorry I’m an exhibitionist.”

    Dawn’s response is shown in the image: “Don’t ever apologize for being you, my friend. Always be unapologetic. And you.”

    The following morning, Dawn says she awoke to several more messages from Dando, including a request to send “an art photo.” Dawn says this was followed by a video: “It’s him sitting in a basement or something, and he’s fully masturbating. You can see his penis, and his face. It’s definitely him. He’s filming it from a weird angle.” A day after opening the first video, Dawn received a new one, also of Dando masturbating. Dando then sent a message stating, “Ok sorry thanks I just need an outlet Cheers.”

    “I’ve never felt anger like that,” Dawn told Ortega. “Don’t call me an outlet, that’s gross.”

    Dando previously wrote about his history of drug addiction and mental illness in his 2025 memoir Rumors of My Demise.


    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

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    Jazz Monroe

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  • Bethany Cosentino Calls on Wasserman CEO to Step Down Over Epstein Emails

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    Note: This article contains descriptions of alleged sexual misconduct.

    Bethany Cosentino has shared an open letter calling on Casey Wasserman—the founder and CEO of her agency, Wasserman—to step down after his name and old emails appeared in the Jeffrey Epstein files. The documents, released by the Justice Department on January 30, contain intimate messages exchanged by Wasserman and Ghislaine Maxwell, Epstein’s longtime companion, throughout 2003, per The New York Times. In 2021, a New York court convicted Maxwell of conspiring with Epstein to recruit and sexually traffic minor girls; she is currently serving a 20-year sentence in federal prison.

    Wasserman Music has represented Cosentino and her band Best Coast since 2021. In her statement, Cosentino demanded Wasserman change its name, and said she has requested to remove both her and Best Coast’s names from the agency’s website. “Ghislaine Maxwell is not a neutral character in a messy story—she is a convicted sex trafficker who helped facilitate the abuse of minors,” Cosentino wrote. “I did not consent to having my name or my career tied to someone with this kind of association to exploitation.” (Pitchfork has reached out to Wasserman, his agency, and Cosentino for comment.)

    Cosentino described her statement as a “refusal to continue lining the pockets of people so closely tied to shady business and toxic, deeply harmful people.” She added: “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.”

    In his own statement to the press, shared on February 1, Wasserman said: “I deeply regret my correspondence with Ghislaine Maxwell which took place over two decades ago, long before her horrific crimes came to light. 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.”

    Per Variety, Wasserman’s communication with Maxwell included an email where Maxwell offers to give Wasserman a massage, and another where Wasserman writes to her: “I think of you all the time. So, what do I have to do to see you in a tight leather outfit?” The files indicate that Wasserman and Maxwell remained in contact after a September 2002 flight to Africa, which former president Bill Clinton reportedly organized to conduct HIV research. A 2003 Vanity Fair report noted that Epstein, Maxwell, Wasserman, billionaire Ron Burkle, Kevin Spacey, and Chris Tucker were among those on board.

    Wasserman founded his eponymous talent management company in 2002, and launched Wasserman Music in 2021. Wasserman Group oversees hundreds of high-profile musicians and sports players; artists currently on the roster include Kendrick Lamar, Coldplay, Skrillex, Chappell Roan, Animal Collective, Wet Leg, the Knife, and Geese. Wasserman is also the chairman of the planned 2028 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles. During a press conference on February 4, International Olympic Committee President Kirsty Coventry said she had “nothing to add” to Wasserman’s statement on the files, per the Los Angeles Times.

    In 2024, Billie Eilish and her brother Finneas left Wasserman Music for WME shortly after a Daily Mail report alleged Wasserman had engaged in inappropriate relationships with multiple female subordinates. Wasserman and his company did not comment on the allegations at the time.

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    Hattie Lindert

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  • Geordie Greep Honors Black Midi Co-Founder Matt Kwasniewski-Kelvin

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    Geordie Greep has shared a tribute to his former bandmate and fellow Black Midi co-founder Matt Kwasniewski-Kelvin, who died on January 12 following “a long battle with his mental health,” according to a statement shared by Kwasniewski-Kelvin’s family. He was 26 years old.

    “He changed my life in more ways than I can ever explain or repay,” Greep wrote in an Instagram post. “Thank you Matt, thank you so much for being my friend. Thank you for helping me in so many ways. Thank you for being brave and courageous enough to believe in the dream we had together, and brave and courageous enough to battle through the awful thing you had to for as long as you did.” You can read Greep’s full statement below.

    Kwasniewski-Kelvin met his future Black Midi bandmates—Greep, Cameron Picton, and Morgan Simpson—as teenagers while attending the a London performing arts institution the BRIT School. The group released their debut album, Schlagenheim, in 2019 on Rough Trade Records.


    Hi all.

    It goes without saying that it’s been a really tricky week. Really, really sad and shit. But I think that it’s important I say something here just to have some record of this time and these feelings.

    I want to say thank you, so, so much, to all of my friends, to everyone we have worked with in music, and to all of the fans for being supportive and kind and thoughtful and gentle. Really thank you all so much, it means more than anything and has really helped. It has been so moving and powerful to see all the tributes and memories shared by all those who know him and all those he inspired. I want to extend all of the warmest thoughts to all of Matt’s family and hope all of you are doing ok.

    It’s really such a sad thing that’s happened. But I have been trying to focus on what a great person he was, what a force for positivity and goodwill, and how much better he made the lives of everyone who knew him. We all loved him so much, we really did. And he will stay with us for the rest of our lives. Even though I haven’t seen him in some years, I thought about him very often, and I always wished and hoped I would one day see him again. There is so much I wish I could say to him. I wish I could say how sorry I am for everything that happened, how sorry I am that he was unlucky enough to be battling such a cruel, unforgiving and persistent illness, how much I miss him and will miss him always, and how thankful I am for everything he did for me.

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    Alex Suskind

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