Best Coast’s Bethany Cosentino Calls on Casey Wasserman to Step Down From Agency Over Emails in Epstein Files: ‘Pretending This Isn’t a Big Deal Is Not an Option’

Best Coast lead singer Bethany Cosentino has publicly demanded the resignation of Casey Wasserman as CEO of Wasserman Music, the talent agency representing her band. Her call to action came via an Instagram post on Thursday, citing Wasserman's inclusion in recently unsealed court documents related to the Jeffrey Epstein case. Cosentino specifically pointed to 2003 email communications between Wasserman and Ghislaine Maxwell, Epstein's convicted accomplice who is currently imprisoned for sex trafficking.

The disclosed emails, while characterized as flirtatious and containing a comment from Wasserman about seeing Maxwell in "a tight leather outfit," have not been associated with any illegal activity. In response to the documents' release, Wasserman—who also chairs the LA28 Olympic and Paralympic Games Organizing Committee—issued an apology, expressing regret for the decades-old correspondence. He stated he never had a relationship with Epstein and clarified that a single 2002 flight on Epstein's plane was related to a Clinton Foundation humanitarian trip. "I am terribly sorry for having any association with either of them," he said.

Cosentino has rejected this apology as insufficient, labeling it a calculated public relations effort devoid of genuine accountability. "Artists are tired of swallowing scandals like this," she wrote, emphasizing the particular impact on women and survivors of sexual assault. She has requested Best Coast's removal from the agency's website and is urging Wasserman to step down to allow the firm to rebuild under new leadership. This direct public challenge is uncommon in the music industry, where artists typically avoid open conflict with major agencies. It reflects an increasing demand for ethical conduct from powerful business partners. As music industry analyst Lydia Grant observed, "We're moving past an era of silent complicity. An artist's public values are now a critical factor in their business dealings, and they're willing to leverage their platform to enforce them."

The controversy has spilled into the realm of international sports. LA County Supervisor Janice Hahn, who also sits on the 2028 Olympics committee, has separately called for Wasserman to step aside from his leadership role there, telling the Los Angeles Times his continued involvement is a "distraction." This dual-pressure campaign highlights how tangential connections to the Epstein scandal continue to trigger professional repercussions across industries, irrespective of legal guilt. Jeffrey Epstein's network, which ensnared elites from finance, politics, and academia, remains under intense scrutiny years after his 2019 arrest and subsequent death in a Manhattan jail cell.

At the time of this report, representatives for Wasserman and his agency had not responded to Cosentino's specific demands. In her statement, Cosentino framed her stance as a matter of principle. "I’m speaking out because pretending this is normal isn’t normal," she concluded. "Because people in power can’t keep skating by." Her public stand underscores a growing expectation for transparency in the entertainment business and may prompt other artists to critically assess their professional affiliations. This incident could contribute to a gradual reshaping of talent representation, where agencies face greater pressure to align their leadership's past conduct with the public values of the artists they represent.