Tom Cruise saves agent's job after she faces backlash over pro-Palestine posts

Hollywood superstar Tom Cruise has spoken in support of his agent Maha Dakhil who was asked to step down from her leadership role at talent agency CAA after she shared pro-Palestine posts on Instagram. Maha was relieved of her duties as co-chief of the motion pictures department but was allowed to remain an agent after her client Tom Cruise made it known to CAA that he was backing her. 

As per reports, Tom Cruise met with Maha Dakhil at her CAA office on November 15. According to sources, Tom 'took the rare step of going in person to show support for his embattled agent'.

What did Maha Dakhil's post say?

Maha Dakhil, one of talent agency CAA's top agents, reposted a few posts in support of Palestine on her Instagram stories. One post stated, "What’s more heartbreaking than witnessing genocide? Witnessing the denial that genocide is happening.” Her posts had created a lot of buzz on social media and she faced major backlash. Eventually, Maha resigned from the agency’s board after she reposted an image on Instagram that read, in part, “You’re currently learning who supports genocide.” She had added in the caption, “That’s the line for me.”

After facing backlash from within the agency and also rival agencies, Maha Dakhil had to delete both images. She even made a public apology and said, “I made a mistake with a repost in my Instagram Story, which used hurtful language. Like so many of us, I have been reeling with heartbreak. I pride myself on being on the side of humanity and peace." 

Others facing the brunt for posting on the Israel-Hamas war

This is not the first incident where Hollywood has reacted harshly to pro-Palestine posts. The Hollywood talent agency UTA dropped Susan Sarandon as a client after she spoke at a pro-Palestine rally recently. 

The Oscar-winning actor attended several rallies in support of Palestine and drew criticism for saying, “There are a lot of people afraid of being Jewish at this time, and are getting a taste of what it feels like to be a Muslim in this country.”

In remarks captured on video, Susan Sarandon encouraged others to keep speaking up in support of Palestinians in the Israel-Hamas war. 

Actress Melissa Barrera was dropped from the new sequel of Scream after she shared posts in support of Palestine. Melissa shared one post in which she accused Israel of “genocide and ethnic cleansing”. She shared another from Jewish Currents magazine about distorting “the Holocaust to boost the Israeli arms industry.” 

Scream actress Melissa Barrera dropped from next film over support for Palestine