Los Angeles (United States) (AFP) – The press bombards him with questions, several elected officials call for his resignation and star Chappell Roan is now cutting ties with him: the star of the boss of the 2028 Olympic Games in Los Angeles, Casey Wasserman, continues to fade because of the Epstein affair.

Published on: 02/10/2026 - 22:23

The president of the organizing committee has been in turmoil since the publication at the end of January of e-mails in which he flirted with Ghislaine Maxwell, the ex-partner of Jeffrey Epstein, imprisoned for having helped the deceased financier to recruit underage prostitutes.

Mr. Wasserman issued a statement in which he said he "deeply" regretted this correspondence held in 2003, three years before the sex criminal's first arrest.

He is not the subject of any prosecution, but these emails where he dreamed of seeing Mrs. Maxwell in a "tight leather outfit", while he was married, weaken him.

The latest consequence, singer Chappell Roan broke up on Monday with the Wasserman agency, the company through which he represents a plethora of musical stars - including Pharrell Williams or the groups Coldplay and Imagine Dragons.

“No artist, agent or employee should be asked to defend or turn a blind eye to actions that are profoundly inconsistent with our moral values,” denounced the pop star.

Other lesser-known artists have also left the Wasserman agency in recent days. According to the Hollywood Reporter, other stars are considering cutting ties, and employees are considering buying the company to rename it.

Calls for resignation

The reputation of Mr. Wasserman, a 51-year-old businessman with great influence in sports, cinema, music and politics, is plummeting. The American press recently fished out a tabloid article from 2024, accusing him of being an "inveterate deceiver" having slept with several female employees.

Last week, several local elected officials in Los Angeles called on him to resign from his position as boss of the next summer Olympics.

“The fact that he represents us on the international stage diverts attention from our athletes and the considerable efforts necessary to prepare for 2028,” said one of them, Janice Hahn.

Visiting the Winter Olympics in Milan, the delegation representing Los Angeles kept a low profile and Mr. Wasserman took no questions. He nevertheless received the support of the American Olympic Committee (USOPC).

"Casey made a statement that reflects his views... We have nothing to add to that. His statement speaks for itself," said USOPC President Gene Sykes, himself a Los Angeles resident.

The city's mayor, Karen Bass, also refuses to be drawn into the controversy, two years before the crucial Games for a metropolis recently hit by deadly fires and anti-migrant raids ordered by Donald Trump.

Huge financial stakes

For the Democrat, the question of retaining Mr. Wasserman falls solely to the LA 2028 board of directors.

This body, which manages the organizing committee for the Los Angeles Olympics, is made up of around thirty personalities, many of whom are friends of Mr. Wasserman or his family - his father, Lew Wasserman, was a film mogul and notably headed Universal Studios.

A disavowal therefore seems improbable. Especially since Mr. Wasserman has established himself as a privileged interlocutor for the Trump administration, and has been involved for more than ten years in the preparation of these Olympic Games with enormous financial stakes.

As in 1984, Los Angeles opted for Games largely financed by the private sector. The LA 2028 budget, estimated at around $7 billion, must notably be financed to the tune of $2.5 billion by sponsors.

If the organization fails to self-finance, California taxpayers risk paying hundreds of millions of this bill.

At the beginning of December, Mr. Wasserman announced that he had already secured more than 2 billion in various sponsors. And despite the controversy surrounding it for ten days, none of the major groups involved - Google, Uber, Starbucks, Honda, etc. - has not reacted or indicated any intention to withdraw.

© 2026 AFP

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