Iranian dissidents slam Whoopi Goldberg’s US-Iran comparison as ‘offensive’

Iranian dissidents are speaking out over Whoopi Goldberg’s “offensive” claim that life for Black Americans is equivalent to living under Iran’s brutal autocracy.

“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,” Dr. Sheila Nazarian told Digital. 

Goldberg sparked backlash during a heated argument with her fellow “The View” co-host Alyssa Farah Griffin on Wednesday. Griffin elaborated on the many human rights violations perpetrated by the Ayatollah’s regime in Iran was guilty of, including executions of gay people and imprisonment of women who go outside with their hair uncovered. 

“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 insisted as Griffin pushed back and said the situations weren’t comparable.

WHOOPI GOLDBERG CLAIMS PEOPLE KEEP TELLING HER ‘YOU CAN’T ELECT A BLACK MAN’ IN AMERICA

“In the year 2025 in the United States, is nothing like if I step foot wearing this outfit into Iran right now,” Griffin said. 

“It is the same,” Goldberg responded. 

When Griffin tried to explain that life in modern-day America was night and day with the theocratic regime in Iran, Goldberg countered, “Not if you’re Black.”

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 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.

Iran’s theocratic regime is deeply unpopular with its public, and widespread anti-government protests frequently break out in the Islamic Republic. The country was gripped by widespread unrest after Iran’s morality police were accused of murdering Mahsa Amini, a Kurdish woman, for not wearing a hijab in public. 

People light a fire during a protest over the death of Mahsa Amini, a woman who died after being arrested by the Islamic Republic’s “morality police”, in Tehran, Iran, on Sept. 21, 2022. (West Asia News Agency)

MOMENTUM FOR REGIME CHANGE IN IRAN SURGES AMID ISRAEL’S CONFLICT WITH TEHRAN

“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 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,” Iranian-American journalist Lisa Daftari told Digital.

This is not the first time Goldberg has faced controversy for comments she made. In 2022, Goldberg was suspended from “The View” following remarks about the Holocaust that many found offensive. 

Alyssa Farah Griffin tried to explain that life is much worse in Iran.  (ABC / Screenshot)

CLICK HERE TO GET THE APP

Goldberg claimed that The Holocaust wasn’t “about race” instead saying the genocide of six million Jews from 1933 to 1945 was the result of “man’s inhumanity to other man.” The daytime talk show co-host swiftly apologized for her comments, saying she “misspoke.”

Digital reached out to “The View” for comment.