Actor Tom Cruise showed support for his CAA agent Maha Dakhil after she was made to step away from her leadership roles at talent agency CAA because she reposted an Instagram story in support of Palestine. Tom Cruise made it known to CAA that he was backing her and “took the rare step of going in person [to the CAA office] to show support” for her.
Variety article reported, across town, the agency’s fiercest rival, CAA, was dealing with a crisis. Maha Dakhil, one of its top agents, had ignited a firestorm with her Instagram posts, including one that said, “What’s more heartbreaking than witnessing genocide? Witnessing the denial that genocide is happening.”
Dakhil was relieved of her co-chief duties in the motion pictures department but retained her position as an agent.
Tom Cruise, a key client, publicly supported her, influencing CAA's decision.
Despite this, internal conflicts persisted at CAA, with assistants considering a walkout in protest but eventually dropping the idea.
Some agents, dissatisfied with Dakhil's posts, felt disillusioned, while CAA severed ties with a staff member and two clients due to inflammatory anti-Israeli social media content.
The industry is witnessing similar instances of discord and division over the Israel-Palestine conflict, highlighting a departure from its usual unity on political issues.
