WME agent apologized to colleagues for “kill them all” text message

WME's Brandt Joel met via Zoom with agents from the film and talent departments to apologize and clarify the comment he posted in an unofficial WME WhatsApp group chat and then removed, a source familiar with the situation said. The Hollywood Reporter.

On Sunday, Joel himself found himself at the centre of a scandal when his inflammatory text made headlines following news that the Israeli military had recovered the bodies of six hostages killed by Hamas militants in the Gaza Strip.

In an unofficial Jewish advocacy group that shows solidarity with Israel, Nancy Josephson and Katie Slater of WME were among those who commented on the tragedy of the killings. According to screenshots obtained by The Hollywood ReporterIn response to the news, Joel wrote: “Fuck the left, kill them all.” A few minutes later, he deleted the message.

Joel told the group this week he wanted to address what happened, expressed remorse for his actions, said he deeply regretted it and held himself responsible. He said he did this in an emotional and irrational moment when the news about the hostages broke his heart. When he realized he had crossed a line, he took the picture down.

Although his original short message was not clear enough, Joel pointed out that his text was directly addressed to the terrorist organization Hamas.

Joel apologized for his lack of judgment, saying he caused a lot of distraction and made the group a target. He added that he loves the company and his colleagues, the source said, and said he will listen to other points of view and seek counseling to manage his impulsive behavior.

Following the fallout from the text, Mahershala Ali has been transferred and may be leaving the agency. The agent also represents Justin Timberlake, Jason Momoa and Matthew McConaughey.

A source said THR last weekend that this was not the first time Joel had sent polarizing messages in the group chat, sharing a previous text in which Joel had said WME had been “weak” toward clients who spoke out about the ongoing war in Gaza. “We have been weak, every department has clients we should have fired and we didn't and this shows that we are weak and have tolerated abhorrent behavior,” Joel wrote, though it is unclear which clients he was directly referring to and what behavior he deemed “abhorrent.”

Joel added, “This is all Polyanna crap. To my knowledge, no one other than Richard has commented on this chat and responded to it. Thankfully there are very few outliers, but we haven't fired anyone yet and that's disgraceful.”