As the world’s eyes turn toward Milan for the opening of the 2026 Winter Olympics, a storm is brewing thousands of miles away in Los Angeles, threatening to overshadow preparations for the city’s own Olympic moment. Casey Wasserman, the influential chairman of the Los Angeles 2028 Olympic and Paralympic Games organizing committee, is facing mounting calls to resign after the release of decades-old emails revealing an intimate relationship with Ghislaine Maxwell, the convicted accomplice of notorious financier Jeffrey Epstein.
The controversy erupted last week when the U.S. Justice Department, as part of the bipartisan Epstein Files Transparency Act, released millions of documents related to its investigation into Epstein. Among them were messages exchanged between Wasserman and Maxwell in 2003. The emails, which had remained out of public view for more than twenty years, reveal a flirtatious and occasionally sexually charged correspondence. In one message from March 2003, Wasserman asked Maxwell, “So what do I have to do to see you in a tight leather outfit?” In another, dated April 1 of that year, he wrote, “Where are you, I miss you,” and inquired about booking a massage. Maxwell, for her part, offered in an April 2003 email to give Wasserman a massage that could “drive a man wild.”
According to The Hollywood Reporter and NPR, these exchanges occurred while Wasserman was married and long before Maxwell’s conviction for sex trafficking in 2021, for which she is now serving a 20-year sentence. Jeffrey Epstein, the central figure in a sprawling sex trafficking scandal, died by suicide in jail in 2019 while awaiting trial on federal charges. While there is no indication of criminal wrongdoing on Wasserman’s part, the newly publicized emails have cast a shadow over his leadership of the LA28 Games and his role as a prominent sports agent.
Wasserman, who also heads the Wasserman Media Group—a powerhouse in sports marketing and talent management—has moved quickly to address the controversy. In a statement released through his company and crisis public relations firm, he apologized for his communications with Maxwell, saying, “I deeply regret my correspondence with Ghislaine Maxwell [from] 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.”
Despite Wasserman’s apology and insistence that he never had any business or personal ties to Epstein, the backlash has been swift and fierce. Several Los Angeles officials have called for his resignation, arguing that the stakes for the city and the Olympic movement are simply too high. “Los Angeles cannot trust our financial future to someone connected with Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell,” City Controller Kenneth Mejia said on social media, adding, “Wasserman must take accountability and resign.” City Councilwoman Monica Rodriguez echoed this sentiment, telling Spectrum News she was “incredibly disappointed” to learn of the depth of Wasserman’s relationship with Maxwell, and that it “really undermines the legacy of what these Games are supposed to represent.”
Los Angeles County Supervisor Janice Hahn, in comments to CNN, made clear her concerns were not about Wasserman’s “past indiscretions,” but about the message his continued leadership would send to survivors of Epstein’s crimes and the world at large. “I worry Casey Wasserman’s continued leadership almost guarantees that our Los Angeles Olympic Games will be tied in subsequent press coverage to his association with a notorious sex trafficker,” she said. City Councilmember Hugo Soto-Martinez was even more direct: “Casey Wasserman should step aside immediately. Anything less is a distraction and undermines efforts to make sure the Games truly reflect the values of a city that is for everyone.”
The reverberations of the scandal have not been confined to the political sphere. Bethany Cosentino, frontwoman of the band Best Coast—one of the artists represented by Wasserman Media Group—publicly demanded the removal of her and her band’s name from the company’s website, called for Wasserman to resign from his own firm, and urged the company to change its name to erase his imprint. “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,” Cosentino wrote to her fans on Instagram. Other high-profile artists signed to Wasserman Group, including Ed Sheeran, Coldplay, SZA, and Chappell Roan, have so far remained silent.
Wasserman’s leadership of the LA28 organizing committee, which he has helmed since its inception in 2017 after being selected by the city in 2015, is now under intense scrutiny. The stakes are enormous: the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics are forecasted to generate between $13.6 billion and $17.6 billion in additional gross domestic product for the region and create tens of thousands of new jobs, according to estimates cited by CNN and NPR. For a city still grappling with the legacy of past Olympic Games and the promise of economic revitalization, the question of who should lead this effort is anything but academic.
Wasserman has kept a low profile since the emails became public. He did, however, appear at an International Olympic Committee (IOC) meeting in Milan ahead of the Winter Games, where he touted progress on the LA28 project but declined to take questions from reporters. The controversy has followed him to Italy, with IOC chair Kirsty Coventry and U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Committee head Gene Sykes both addressing the matter in press conferences. Coventry stated, “Casey has put out a statement. I have nothing further to add on that,” while Sykes said, “Casey’s made a statement that reflects the perspective he has on what came to light, when the emails were released, with the rest of the Epstein file. We have nothing to add to that, his statement stands on its own.” Sykes went further, expressing confidence in Wasserman’s leadership, noting, “I have more confidence today in L.A. 28’s operational capabilities, its leadership, the quality of what it’s doing and how well they’re executing than I’ve had at any point of time.”
Yet, the pressure is unlikely to abate soon. The LA28 board—a body including nearly three dozen prominent figures from business, entertainment, sports, and politics—has so far remained silent on whether it maintains confidence in Wasserman. Both the International and U.S. Olympic committees have also declined to comment beyond referencing Wasserman’s statement.
The Epstein scandal has ensnared a long list of public figures across industries, with several forced to resign or step back from public life. As the countdown to the 2028 Games continues, the question of Wasserman’s future looms large, not only for the Olympic movement but for Los Angeles itself. The city’s hopes for a transformative, world-class event now hang in the balance, caught between the promise of economic renewal and the imperative for ethical leadership.
For now, the LA28 Games remain on course, but the debate over who should lead them has become a defining subplot—one that will shape the city’s Olympic legacy for years to come.