Bethany Cosentino, best known as the frontwoman of indie pop-rock duo Best Coast, is speaking out after the latest release of files in the case of serial child sex offender Jeffrey Epstein revealed that Casey Wasserman, the founder and CEO of her booking agency, Wasserman Music, had a close relationship with Ghislaine Maxwell, the convicted sex trafficker and Epstein’s main accomplice.
In an Instagram post published Thursday night (Feb. 5), the singer-songwriter made a series of demands, including calling for the removal of her and her band’s name from the agency’s website; for Wasserman to step down from his post; and for the business to change its name to erase the imprint of its founder, who oversees an agency that represents such superstars as Ed Sheeran, Coldplay, SZA, Noah Kahan, Chappell Roan, Lorde and Kenny Chesney.
Related
“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 of 2001 and 2003, and multiple documented connections and communications with Jeffrey Epstein confirmed by emails now part of public records,” Consentino wrote. “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 so often protected, excused, or allowed to move on without consequence. Pretending this isn’t a big deal is not an option for me.”
In a tranche of more than 3 million files related to the Epstein investigation released by the Department of Justice on Jan. 30, Wasserman, who launched the powerful agency in 1998, was found to have exchanged dozens of flirtatious emails with Maxwell in 2003. More than two decades ago, several years before Epstein’s crimes were known to the public, New York reported that Wasserman and his then-wife, Laura Ziffren, flew on Epstein’s plane on an AIDS fact-finding mission to Africa in 2002 — a trip that also included such luminaries as President Bill Clinton and actors Chris Tucker and Kevin Spacey.
The emails between Wasserman and Maxwell revealed a flirtatious, perhaps sexual, relationship between the pair. In one email dated April 1, 2003, Wasserman wrote, “Where are you, I miss you. I will be in nyc for 4 days starting april 22…can we book that massage now?”
In another dated March 16, 2003, he wrote, “So what do I have to do to see you in a tight leather outfit?”
On Jan. 31, a day after the release of the latest round of files in the Epstein case, Wasserman — who also serves as chair of the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics organizing committee, a post several local politicians are now calling for him to step down from — sent a statement to The Hollywood Reporter apologizing for his involvement with Maxwell while denying “a personal or business relationship” with Epstein himself.
“I deeply regret my correspondence with Ghislaine Maxwell which took place over two decades ago, long before her horrific crimes came to light,” Wasserman 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.”
Cosentino bristled at that apology in her Instagram post, calling Wasserman’s words insufficient. “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 said.
“Artists are tired of swallowing scandals like this,” Cosentino continued. “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.”
Later in the message, Cosentino indicated that she intends to continue her professional relationship with her agent at Wasserman, Sam Hunt, stating that she has worked with him “for over 15 years” and that he “has done incredible work in representing me.
“I am in the Sam Hunt business,” she wrote. “I am not in the Wasserman business.”
Representatives for Wasserman did not immediately respond to Billboard‘s request for comment.
