Maha Dakhil faces backlash over controversial post, steps down from CAA leadership

Tom Cruise and his agent Maha Dakhil were spotted arriving in London in style, landing at Battersea heliport via his private helicopter on Sunday.

Cruise who is also a trained pilot, appeared in high spirits alongside Dakhil. The two were seen walking arm-in-arm after touching down.

This public appearance comes nearly a year after she stepped down from her leadership roles at the Creative Artists Agency (CAA) following a controversial social media post during the Israel and Hamas conflict.

Despite stepping down from her position on the internal board of CAA, Dakhil continues to represent Cruise, joining him on this latest trip to London.

Dakhil represents major stars like Dakota Johnson, Madonna, and Natalie Portman, stepped down from her position as co-head of CAA’s motion picture department in 2023 after sharing an Instagram post accusing Israel of genocide during the October 7 attacks.

The post, originally from an account called FreePalestine, read: “You’re learning who supports genocide.” Dakhil added, “That’s the line for me.”

In a follow-up post, she wrote, “What’s more heartbreaking than witnessing genocide? Witnessing the denial that genocide is happening.”

Although she later deleted the posts and issued an apology to Variety, saying she had “made a mistake with a repost,” the backlash led to her stepping down from the agency’s internal board