Following her apology for comments made in the aftermath of the Hamas’ attack on Israel on October 7th, Maha Dakhil, the co-chief of the motion pictures department at CAA, is stepping down from her leadership position within the division. In addition, she is resigning from the agency board of the Century City-based firm. Dakhil, who represents notable clients such as Tom Cruise, Natalie Portman, Reese Witherspoon, Anne Hathaway, and others, faced scrutiny for a now-deleted Instagram post in which she criticized Israel and mentioned “genocide.” Subsequently, she issued an apology for her remarks.
Maha Dakhil issued a statement on October 19, acknowledging her mistake in sharing a post on her Instagram story that contained hurtful language. She expressed remorse and mentioned her commitment to humanity and peace. Dakhil thanked her Jewish friends and colleagues for educating her about the implications of her post and promptly removed it. She apologized for any pain she may have caused.
This incident generated attention, and people were curious about the response from the major agency led by Bryan Lourd. While Maha Dakhil will no longer lead the motion pictures department, she will continue to work with clients.
The situation reflects the complex social media environment, particularly in the wake of the terrorist attack by Hamas on Israel, resulting in significant casualties. Leaders like Jonathan Greenblatt of the Anti-Defamation League (ADL) have urged Hollywood figures to express strong support for Israel, given concerns about the distortion of information on social media. The ADL also reported a record number of antisemitic incidents in Los Angeles in 2022. Following her apology
However, there has been increasing activism in Hollywood, with some questioning the level of support for the Palestinian people, even though major studios and executives like Bob Iger and Shari Redstone condemned Hamas’ actions and made donations to humanitarian organizations after the attack.