A public feud has erupted between Variety and United Talent Agency (UTA) following the publication of an article detailing client defections and internal anxieties at the talent agency. The conflict escalated when UTA CEO David Kramer issued a memo to staff, refuting the report and directly criticizing the article's author, Variety's executive editor Matt Donnelly.
The Variety article, headlined “Inside UTA’s Bummer Summer: Client Departures, Stalled M&A and Agent Anxiety,” highlighted recent high-profile client departures, including comedian Nikki Glaser and podcaster Alex Cooper. It also noted broader industry rumblings about UTA's business trajectory.
Kramer's leaked memo accused Donnelly of having a clear bias against UTA, characterizing the reporter as having declared the agency a “flagrant and hostile enemy.” The memo also alleged that Donnelly had privately stated there would be “consequences” from both Variety/PMC and himself for UTA, and intended to damage the agency's business. Kramer further suggested Donnelly had subjected women at UTA to "hostile and unprofessional behavior," though he provided no specifics. UTA declined to offer further evidence of these alleged actions.
Donnelly's reporting for Variety has previously drawn the ire of UTA, with a prior incident occurring during the Cannes Film Festival in May. At that time, Donnelly published a Q&A with UTA partner Rena Ronson. According to sources, Ronson expressed dissatisfaction with how she was quoted and requested the story be removed. Donnelly reportedly refused, stating he had accurately quoted her. UTA contends Donnelly reacted outsized to the requests, while sources close to Donnelly claim UTA made excessive demands and threatened to spread misinformation about the interview.
Variety defended Donnelly, stating, "We stand by our reporting and our editor Matt Donnelly. The email and texts cited by UTA in its memo to staff date from last May when a UTA executive initiated a heated back and forth."
The agency has experienced several significant client departures over the past three years, including figures like Greta Gerwig, Ben Stiller, Kevin Hart, and Judd Apatow, in addition to more recent departures like Cooper and Glaser. The Hollywood Reporter also noted that actor Daniel Dae Kim recently moved to CAA.
Industry observers noted that Kramer's public memo, rather than letting the story fade, amplified the situation. "You don’t chase bad publicity. They should have just let it die," one veteran communications executive commented. "One of the first rules of public relations is you don’t put gasoline on the fire unless you need to."