The fallout from Whoopi Goldberg’s recent comments comparing African American experience to life in Iran has ignited a larger debate about the politics of pain, global empathy, and what many African Americans perceive as a recurring dismissal of their long-standing struggles.
Goldberg, a co-host on ABC’s The View, drew outrage this week when she challenged what she saw as the selective outrage directed toward Iran’s human rights abuses without considering America’s own record, particularly when it comes to the African communities.
Her remarks, however, were met with swift condemnation, particularly from Iranian dissidents and conservative media figures, who saw the comparison as misguided and offensive.
But as calls for her removal from The View trend on social media and Iranian-American commentators demand an apology, many African Americans say the uproar feels familiar. They’ve seen this playbook before, most recently during the 2023 Hamas-Israel conflict, when expressions of solidarity or questions about double standards drew disproportionate criticism.
This time, some are asking: Why is the pain of the African American still up for debate?
The controversy began during a conversation about Iran’s enforcement of strict dress codes and human rights violations, particularly targeting women and LGBTQ+ individuals.
Co-host Alyssa Farah Griffin described the conditions in Iran as “significantly worse” than those in the U.S., saying she couldn’t wear her outfit in Tehran without facing punishment.
Goldberg pushed back, drawing a link to America’s own legacy of violence.
“Let’s not do that,” she warned. “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,” she said.
When Griffin doubled down, citing the difference in current conditions, Goldberg responded, “It is the same… Not if you’re Black.”
The moment quickly went viral. Iranian-American activists called Goldberg’s comparison inappropriate, and hashtags like #RemoveWhoopi began to trend on X (formerly Twitter).
Dr. Sheila Nazarian, an Iranian-American surgeon and human rights advocate whose family fled Iran after her father was nearly executed, was one of the first to publicly denounce Goldberg.
“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,” she told Fox News Digital.
“In Iran, the government controls nearly every aspect of life,” she added. “People can be imprisoned, tortured, raped or even executed for peaceful protests, for criticizing the regime, or simply expressing their opinions online.”
Iranian-American journalist and foreign policy commentator Lisa Daftari also condemned the comparison. “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 said.
Daftari cited Goldberg’s own platform and freedom of expression as evidence of the difference: “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.”
While many acknowledge Iran’s regime is indeed oppressive, others, especially African Americans, have pointed out that Goldberg’s critics may be missing the point. This isn’t the first-time expressions of African American solidarity or frustration have been reframed as offensive, or their comparisons policed.
During the 2023 Hamas-Israel conflict, many African Americans used social media to draw parallels between the struggle for Palestinian freedom and the African American fight against systemic racism.
Hashtags like #BLM and #PLM (Palestinian Lives Matter) were widely shared. Protesters in Gaza and the U.S. carried signs that read: “Justice for Eyad. Justice for George,” referencing Eyad Hallaq, an autistic Palestinian man fatally shot by Israeli police, and George Floyd.
Others raised questions about Israel’s treatment of African refugees and asylum seekers, and criticized what they saw as selective solidarity.
One post read: “If African Americans knew how Israel treats Black people, Black Lives Don’t Matter in Israel.”
Some prominent voices pushed back. Former NBA star Amare Stoudemire, who converted to Judaism, openly criticized African Americans who didn’t express immediate support for Israel. “For all y’all Black Lives Matter who ain’t saying nothing or ‘let me figure out exactly what happened before I say anything,’ F you,” he said on Instagram. “It ain’t never been cool to kidnap kids.”
Even within the African American press, the divide was visible. The National Newspaper Publishers Association (NNPA), led by Chair Bobby Henry and President Dr. Benjamin F. Chavis Jr., released a strong statement condemning Hamas’s attacks and affirming their solidarity with Israel.
“Terrorism against innocent civilians in Israel and in any other place in the world can never be justified, tolerated, or sanctioned,” it read.
Still, others online questioned the absence of reciprocal solidarity. One post that gained traction asked, “When has anyone in Israel said to pray for the American Negro? Our Holocaust has been ongoing for 400+ years.”
For many African Americans, these moments reveal a pattern, when they speak up about injustice, especially in global contexts, their perspectives are scrutinized in ways others are not.
Even Joy Behar, Goldberg’s co-host on The View, tried to offer context during the segment, asking Griffin to consider things from the lens of an African American: “Just try to understand from their point of view. This country does not do them well.”
Griffin acknowledged the point, but held her position: “I completely agree with you and acknowledge that experience,” she said, “but I also know the facts on the ground in Iran are significantly worse.”
What’s become clear is that this debate is about more than Goldberg’s remarks. It reflects a broader frustration among African Americans about being asked to stay quiet when others speak, and being told their comparisons are inappropriate even as their pain remains ongoing.
Others questioned why African American voices are so often treated as divisive or radical when they attempt to show solidarity or point out double standards.
Whether one agrees with Goldberg or not, the debate she ignited is one African Americans have long lived through. Their history is not a sidebar in global discussions of justice, it is a central, continuous story of struggle for dignity and freedom. And as the backlash rages, many are simply asking for the right to speak their truth without being silenced, or compared into silence.
By: Joshua Narh.