Media mogul Jeffrey Katzenberg has sparked fury for playing a role in what has become an epic embarrassment for the upcoming Summer Games. Andrew H. Walker/Shutterstock There’s a new villain emerging in the Casey Wasserman saga that’s been gripping Los Angeles. And, for a change, it’s not Casey Wasserman.
Sources tell Page Six Hollywood that several LA28 board members are furious at Jeffrey Katzenberg for playing a role in what has become an epic embarrassment for the upcoming Summer Games.
“He was the one who rallied everybody to protect Casey,” says one insider.
On Feb. 11, the board released a statement saying it was sticking with Wasserman, following an internal review of his ties to Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell. The board ultimately decided that Casey’s actions “did not go beyond what has already been publicly documented.” They were sticking by their man.
Jack Black, Jeffrey Katzenberg, Casey Wasserman, and Sebastian Manascalco attend an NBA basketball game. NBAE via Getty Images Two days later, Wasserman released his own statement saying that he was selling his titular agency, explaining that the Epstein Files scandal had “become a distraction.” Sources say members of the board were blindsided by his statement and started to blame Katzenberg for the “terrible optics” that the chain of events had caused.
“How could you possibly say that you’re a distraction to music people but not to the Olympics?” asks a source familiar with the board machinations.
But a third source familiar with the board’s deliberations pushed back on the characterization that Katzenberg was a ringleader, and says he never spoke during the Feb. 11 video conference call except to vote. That source says the board, which includes Jessica Alba and Jeanie Buss, voted unanimously to keep Wasserman.
Over the past 18 months, Katzenberg has displayed a knack for inserting himself in high-stakes political situations that seem to go haywire. As campaign co-chair for Joe Biden‘s 2024 presidential reelection campaign, Katzenberg was heavily criticized for failing to recognize the severity of Biden’s cognitive decline before it was too late. He even assured his multimillionaire and billionaire brethren that the president was fit for a second term. We all know how that ended up.
Katzenberg, along with fellow LA28 board member Matt Johnson, were instrumental in pushing the town to back Karen Bass over Rick Caruso in the last mayor’s race. Many Bass donors tell Page Six Hollywood that it didn’t take long for them to have buyer’s remorse even before the 2025 fires that ravaged Pacific Palisades and Malibu. Many see his enthusiastic backing of Wasserman, and his assurances that things would blow over for the embattled mogul, as the final betrayal.
“This is strike three,” says the source familiar with the board.
Sources allege that after a Daily Mail exposé about Wasserman’s alleged extramarital affairs broke in August 2024, Wasserman told the LA28 board, “I don’t have any other secrets.” Then, the Epstein Files dropped on Jan. 30, opening a new problematic PR front which would soon overwhelm him. Behind the scenes, Katzenberg remained loyal to Casey even as a stream of artists decamped his agency.
(Katzenberg was pals with Casey’s pioneering granddad Lew Wasserman.)
Jeffrey Katzenberg posing at an awards event. WireImage Meanwhile, Bass finally weighed in and called for Wasserman to step aside while being interviewed by CNN on Monday.
While Wasserman — at least for the moment — seems dug in, the town has already started to discuss a shortlist of candidates who could replace him. Caruso has been mentioned along with Disney chief Bob Iger, who will be stepping away from his day-to-day work as Disney’s CEO in a month. Several other names have emerged as potential replacements including ex-LA Mayor Eric Garcetti and former speaker of the House Kevin McCarthy. A source from Garcetti’s City Hall administration told us: “The guy would kill for this. The IOC and the US OC would like him. The City Council, Bass and the County would like him… oh, and it sets him up to run for something after the Olympics.”
(Add to the intrigue a wild rumor that Donald Trump Jr. might step in — though insiders say it’s a tall tale and that Jr. has never heard of Wasserman.)
For his part, Wasserman seems unruffled by his own PR spiral, telling friends he’s not worried. To be sure, he has plenty of enemies.
Ironically, Ari Emanuel does not appear to be one of them in this case, despite Wasserman allegedly blaming the superagent for some of his PR woes. On Location, a subsidiary of Emanuel’s TKO Group Holdings, is the exclusive worldwide hospitality provider for the 2028 Summer Olympic and Paralympic Games in Los Angeles. So far, TKO has no plans to exit like so many of the artists who severed ties with Wasserman.
A rep for Katzenberg declined comment. A rep for Wasserman didn’t get back to us.
