In a move that feels as much like damage control as it does a business pivot, Casey Wasserman is reportedly putting his namesake agency on the market, according to the The Wall Street Journal.

The decision lands in the wake of his name surfacing in documents tied to Jeffrey Epstein, a revelation that’s already sparked a wave of artist departures and public pressure for him to step aside.

In an internal memo sent Friday, February 13, Wasserman acknowledged the growing turbulence, admitting he had “become a distraction” to the company’s work. Day-to-day leadership will now shift to longtime executive Mike Watts, while Wasserman turns his attention toward his role as chairman of the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics.

“I’m deeply sorry that my past personal mistakes have caused you so much discomfort,” he wrote in the memo, later reviewed by the The New York Times. “It’s not fair to you, and it’s not fair to the clients and partners we represent.” Representatives for the agency have yet to publicly expand on the situation.

The controversy traces back to January 30, when the U.S. Department of Justice released files that included Wasserman’s name. The documents outlined email exchanges with Ghislaine Maxwell and referenced a 2002 humanitarian trip to Africa aboard Epstein’s private plane, an excursion tied to efforts led by former president Bill Clinton. Maxwell is currently serving a 20-year federal sentence for her role in Epstein’s abuse network, while Epstein himself died in custody in 2019 after facing sex trafficking charges.

Back at the agency, the fallout has been swift and highly visible. Artists including Chappell Roan, Wednesday, and Weyes Blood have already walked away, with others publicly calling for leadership changes. Bethany Cosentino was among the most direct, stating she did not consent to having her career linked to “this kind of association to exploitation.”

That sentiment has only spread. Acts like Odesza, Orville Peck, Local Natives, Dropkick Murphys, and Chelsea Cutler have also severed ties in recent days, signaling a broader unraveling of the firm’s once-stacked roster.

Founded in 2002, the Wasserman Group grew into a major force representing both athletes and musicians, counting names like Kendrick Lamar, Coldplay, Skrillex, and Animal Collective among its clients. But as the controversy continues to ripple outward, even the agency’s public-facing artist roster has quietly disappeared from its website, an ominous sign of just how quickly the ground is shifting beneath it.