Iranian dissidents are lashing out a “The View” co-host Whoopi Goldberg after she downplayed the experience of those suffering under Iran’s authoritarian regime.
During a recent broadcast, Goldberg stepped in it when she claimed the experience of Black Americans in 2025 is the same as what women and members of the LGBTQ community go through under the regime.
Dr. Sheila Nazarian told Fox News Digital that Goldberg’s absurd comments were “deeply misguided and dismisses the brutal realities faced by millions of Iranians.”
Nazarian, a renowned plastic surgeon whose family fled Iran in 1985 when she was six after her father was put on a government list to be killed, told Fox News Digital that Goldberg’s comparison was not only inaccurate but deeply offensive.
"While racism is a serious and ongoing challenge in the U.S., 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, raped or even executed for peaceful protests, for criticizing the regime, or simply expressing their opinions online," Nazarian said.
Lisa Daftari, an Iranian-American journalist also chimed in. "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,” she told Fox News Digital. “The very fact that she, as a woman — and a woman of color — has a platform where she can speak freely, express dissenting views, and appear uncovered on national television is proof of the immense freedoms she enjoys."
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During the broadcast, co-host Alyssa Farah Griffin detailed how women are forced to live under oppressive laws dictating how they dress, where they can travel, and other issues. She further pointed out how the regime criminalizes LGBTQ people. “I can’t have my hair showing. I can’t wear a skirt. I can’t have my arms out,” she said.
“It’s very different to live in the United States in 2025 than it is to live in Iran,” Griffin said.
“Not if you’re Black,” Goldberg replied.
“This is the greatest country in the world,” Goldberg continued. “But every day we are worried. Do we have to be worried about our kids? Are our kids going to get shot because they're running through somebody's neighborhood?”
The View's Whoopi Goldberg: Being black in America is the same as being gay or a woman in Iran.
— Townhall.com (@townhallcom) June 18, 2025
REMINDER: Homosexuality is criminalized in Iran. The maximum penalty is death. pic.twitter.com/Fa9RlBjQWm
I’m not into playing the oppression Olympics. But Goldberg’s comments were about as ignorant as it gets. One only needs to do 15 minutes of research to find out how horrible the conditions are for Iranians because of their government. But when your job is just to throw out platitudes for applause, reading isn’t really necessary, is it?
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