The West Wing creator and Oscar-winning writer-director Aaron Sorkin has left CAA for WME in the wake of a senior CAA agent’s controversial social media posts about the Israel-Hamas conflict.
In what Hollywood sources said could be the first of several defections, Sorkin, who won the adapted screenplay Oscar for The Social Network and wrote Moneyball, reacted after CAA’s film department co-chief Maha Dakhil posted on Instagram last week.
Dakhil reposted a social media statement that said of Israel’s retaliatory attacks after the Hamas terror attacks on October 7: “You’re currently learning who supports genocide.”
She wrote, ”That’s the line for me,” and added in a s subsequent post, “What’s more heartbreaking than witnessing genocide? Witnessing the denial that genocide is happening.”
“Maha isn’t an antisemite, she’s just wrong,” said Sorkin on Tuesday. “She’s a great agent and I’m very proud of the work we did together over the last six years. I’m excited to be returning to WME.”
Dakhil, whose clients include Tom Cruise and Reese Witherspoon, deleted the posts and apologised. She has stepped away from her CAA role and resigned from the agency’s internal board.
Separately on Tuesday, Writers Guild Of America West broke its silence on the Israel-Hamas conflict, which had caused a backlash in Hollywood. In a statement to members the guild explained it did not typically comment on geopolitical matters, although it apologised for causing ”tremendous pain” through its silence.
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