Whoopi Goldberg Equates Black America With Iranian Life: A Grumpy Guru Breakdown
Fantastic. Just what we needed—Whoopi Goldberg taking center stage again to remind us that life for Black Americans is apparently on par with living under Iran’s regime. During Wednesday’s episode of The View, the usually mild-mannered moderator pivoted from Middle East missile exchanges to race relations with the agility of a caffeinated cat, declaring that American Black parents worry about their children getting shot just like Iranian women fret over state oppression. I don’t want to be the one to point out the obvious, but conflating two vastly different systems requires a special kind of bold—and Whoopi delivered.
TMZ first flagged the moment when Alyssa Farah and Sara Haines were discussing Israel and Iran trading missiles. Whoopi cut in, exasperated: “Don’t defend Iran—America isn’t any better!” She claimed both countries are “equally harsh,” citing the specter of police violence and systemic racism here at home. She even leaned on that dreaded line about Black parents gearing up for funerals before bake sales. According to the show’s transcript on The View’s official site, her exact words were “We’re in the same universe.”
Alyssa Farah, visibly taken aback, shot back that America and Iran aren’t “in the same universe,” pointing to differences in legal structures, press freedom, and women’s rights. Whoopi rolled her eyes so hard I’m surprised they didn’t get stuck and snapped, “You just don’t get it if you’ve never been Black in America.” Social media erupted within minutes—clips circulated on Twitter, garnering thousands of retweets and hot takes from outlets like TMZ and Insider.
Let’s break down the facts, however grudgingly. Iran operates under a theocratic government where apostasy can have death sentences, and women face mandatory dress codes backed by police patrols. The U.S. has no religious police or compulsory hijabs, but it does have documented cases of police brutality and mass incarceration disproportionately affecting Black communities, as pointed out by the NAACP and the ACLU in their 2024 reports. So yes, both scenarios are dire—but are they equivalent? That’s where the Grumpy Guru rolls their eyes again.
While Whoopi tapped into a long history of racial injustice in America, using Iran as a benchmark oversimplifies two distinct human rights crises. The United Nations’ latest human rights survey lists Iran among the worst offenders globally, far below the U.S. on its index. Meanwhile, the U.S. still wrestles with systemic racism and police reform, but it provides judicial recourse, freedom of speech, and civil society activism unseen in Tehran.
Did anyone expect a different outcome? No? Thought so. That, dear reader, is why we can’t have nice things—especially not nuanced international comparisons on daytime TV. Moving on.
Sources: Celebrity Storm and TMZ, The View (official transcript), ACLU 2024 Report, United Nations Human Rights Index
Attribution: Creative Commons Licensed
