Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass dodged reporters’ questions about LA28 Organizing Committee chair Casey Wasserman — who has faced mounting calls to resign after newly released emails revealed his flirty exchanges with Ghislaine Maxwell.
Bass, who has worked closely with Wasserman on planning the 2028 Olympics, remained silent when asked at a City Hall press conference Wednesday about his racy communications with Jeffrey Epstein’s sex-trafficking madam.
Bass promised she would be “issuing a statement very shortly,” according to the Los Angeles Times.
She followed up with a brief statement saying that the final decision about Wasserman’s role on the committee is up to the LA28 Board.
“As Los Angeles prepares to take the world stage and welcome the world for the Olympic Games for the third time and the Paralympics for the first, it is critical to be 100% focused on making our city shine and ensuring the 2028 Games are the best in Los Angeles’ history,” she said.
“Ultimately, any decision on the LA28 leadership must be made by the LA28 Board. As you know, they are a separate and independent nonprofit organization.”
Casey Wasserman, the 51-year-old CEO of Wasserman Media Group, exchange a flurry of risqué messages with Ghislaine Maxwell in 2003 while he was still married to his then-wife Laura Ziffren.
In one April 2003 email, he requested a sensual massage.
“I will be in NYC for 4 days starting april 22…can we book that massage now?” Wasserman wrote.
Two days later, Maxwell replied with a steamy response: “all that rubbing — are you sure you can take it? The thought frankly is leaving me a little breathless.”
“There are a few spots that apparently drive a man wild — I suppose I could practise them on you and you could let me know if they work or not?”
Several public officials have called for the media mogul to step down after the emails were reported.
LA County Supervisor Janice Hahn, who works alongside Wasserman and the committee, said: “Having him represent us on the world stage distracts focus from our athletes and the enormous effort needed to prepare for 2028.”