Iranian dissidents have voiced their discontent regarding Whoopi Goldberg’s “offensive” comments that compared the experiences of Black Americans to living under Iran’s oppressive regime. They describe this comparison as both misguided and deeply insensitive.
“Whoopi Goldberg’s comparison between being Black in America and living under Iran’s authoritarian regime is deeply misguided and dismisses the brutal realities faced by millions of Iranians,” said Dr. Sheila Nazarian, an Iranian-American plastic surgeon.
Nazarian, born in New York in 1979 to Iranian parents, experienced the dangers following the Islamic Revolution firsthand. As conditions worsened due to escalated political instability, her father organized their escape from Iran. He left first, pretending to attend a medical conference, while Nazarian, her mother, and sister were later smuggled out under burlap in a truck. After months in Pakistan, they were reunited with him and later settled in Los Angeles.
During a recent episode of “The View,” Goldberg sparked backlash in a heated discussion with co-host Alyssa Farah Griffin.
Griffin pointed out the severe “human rights violations” by Iran’s regime, mentioning the execution of suspected LGBTQ+ individuals and women being jailed for failing to wear hijabs properly. Some women face punishment even for minor infractions regarding their hijab.
In Iran: Women risk arrest or imprisonment for “improper hijab” and need written permission from their husbands to obtain a passport or travel. Men can simply divorce at will, while women have limited grounds for initiating divorce.
“Let’s not do that, because if we start with that, we have been known in this country to tie gay folks to the car. Listen, I’m sorry, they used to just keep hanging black people,” Goldberg remarked, as Griffin challenged her statement, asserting that the two situations aren’t comparable.
“In the year 2025 in the United States, is nothing like if I step foot wearing this outfit into Iran right now,” Griffin responded.
“It is the same,” Goldberg insisted, later rolling her eyes.
As Griffin emphasized the stark contrast between modern America and theocratic Iran, Goldberg interrupted with the claim that such differences don’t apply if one is Black.
Nazarian reiterated to Fox News that Goldberg’s “misguided” comparison was not only incorrect but profoundly offensive to Iranian dissidents.
“While racism is a serious and ongoing challenge in the US, comparing this to life under a totalitarian theocracy like Iran is not only inaccurate — it’s offensive to those who suffer daily under that regime. In Iran, the government controls nearly every aspect of life. People can be imprisoned, tortured, or executed for peaceful protests or expressing their opinions,” Nazarian noted.
Iran’s theocratic regime remains unpopular, with ongoing protests against the government intensifying after the killing of Mahsa Amini, a young woman who died for violating hijab laws.
An Iranian journalist also responded, remarking on Goldberg’s comments.
“It’s astonishing that Whoopi Goldberg would even suggest that life for Black Americans is somehow equivalent to living under the rule of the ayatollah in Iran. The fact that she, as a woman — and a woman of color — can speak freely and express opinions on national television shows the significant freedoms she enjoys,” said Iranian-American journalist Lisa Daftari.
Majid Rafizadeh, a political scientist from Iran, also criticized Goldberg’s comments as delusional given the everyday terror Iranians face from their leadership.
“In Iran, you’re constantly watched. You can be arrested for a word or a haircut… They torture people. They execute dissidents,” he emphasized.
