Whoopi Goldberg sparked controversy on The View by claiming that life for Black Americans is “the same” as living under Iran’s authoritarian regime, prompting Iranian dissidents to denounce her comparison as offensive and misleading.
Critics point out that Goldberg, a successful and outspoken celebrity, benefits from freedoms unimaginable under Iran’s theocracy. Alyssa Farah Griffin reminded viewers that in Iran, women are punished for showing hair, protesters face imprisonment or torture, and LGBTQ+ individuals risk execution.
Goldberg’s claim that racial injustice in America mirrors life under Ayatollah rule was sharply dismissed. Iranian plastic surgeon Dr. Sheila Nazarian said the analogy “dismisses the brutal realities faced by millions of Iranians,” noting that dissenters in Iran can be imprisoned, tortured, raped, or even executed simply for peaceful protest or criticism. This totalitarian control is “deeply misguided and offensive,” she added.
Majid Rafizadeh, a political scientist who fled Iran, similarly condemned the claim as “extremely delusional” and argued the comparison diminishes the daily terror Iranians face—constant surveillance, arbitrary arrests, torture, and death for expressing themselves. He emphasized that even amidst America’s imperfection, citizens retain fundamental rights: they can speak, protest, vote, and walk free at night—protections absent under the Iranian regime.
By comparing the Black American experience, within a constitutional republic, to life under a brutal theocracy, Goldberg overlooked the massive gulf between systemic U.S. challenges and totalitarian oppression. Iranian dissidents urged her to acknowledge America’s freedoms, even as it still wrestles with its own ongoing issues.
