Los Angeles mayor Karen Bass said Monday that Casey Wasserman should resign as the chair of the 2028 Olympics due to his ties to the late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.
“I cannot fire him,” Bass told CNN. “I do have an opinion. My opinion is that he should step down.”
Only LA28’s board of directors can replace Wasserman. Last week, the board gave Wasserman a vote of confidence to stay as chairman after emails between Wasserman and Epstein accomplice Ghislaine Maxwell came to light.
“The board made a decision,” Bass said. “I think that decision was unfortunate. I don’t support the decision. I do think that we need to look at the leadership. However, my job as mayor of Los Angeles is to make sure that our city is completely prepared to have the best Olympics that has ever happened in Olympic history.”
Her call for him to resign came three days after Wasserman said he was selling his influential talent agency. Several high-profile clients, including women’s soccer legend Abby Wambach, announced they were leaving the agency due to Wasserman’s ties to Epstein.
Wasserman flew on Epstein’s plane with Bill Clinton, Epstein, and others in 2002. Newly released files from the Justice Department show Wasserman—who was married at the time—exchanging flirtatious emails with Maxwell.
The convicted sex trafficker described “a few spots that apparently drive a man wild” and offered to “practice them on” Wasserman. Wasserman wrote to Maxwell that his desires include “You, me, and not else much.”
Wasserman said he had no relationship with Epstein and that “I deeply regret my correspondence with Ghislaine Maxwell,” which he said came “long before her horrific crimes came to light.”
Maxwell is currently serving a 20-year prison sentence after she was convicted of playing an integral role in sex trafficking minors with Epstein, who died in prison in 2019 while awaiting trial on similar charges.
