Porn Star Allowed Into Hardline Islamic Iran Because She's 'Pro-Palestine'
The words Islamic Republic of Iran and "porn star" aren't two concepts one typically hears coupled in the same sentence, but this week controversy and confusion has been unleashed after adult film actress Whitney Wright made a bizarre visit to Iran.
Wright, whose real name is Brittni Rayne Whittington, also deems herself a pro-Palestinian activist, and presumably that is how she was allowed into Iran. At the start of this week she posted multiple photos of herself wearing - ironically enough - an Islamic hijab during her trip to tour the capital of Tehran.
"I'm extremely disappointed that the attention surrounding my visit [seems] to overshadow Israel's ongoing genocide in Gaza," Wright has told Newsweek, addressing the significant backlash online that followed her photos. The porn star says she's "not backing down".
According to EuroNews, Iranian opposition activists were especially outraged:
US-based activist Masih Alinejad, who faced assassination attempts by Iran, condemned Wright for making the trip and for alleged remarks where the actress said "if you respect the law, you will be safe in Iran."
Alinejad took to X to point out that "American porn star Whitney Wright is in Iran, my birth country, where women are killed for simply showing their hair and being true to themselves."
Also controversial were her posts seeming to glorify the 1979 Iranian Islamic Revolution which resulted in the long-running US hostage crisis. In one Instagram post...
She said she "HAD to visit" the embassy where Iranian students held staff members hostage for 444 days after the 1979 Islamic Revolution.
She's been accused also by pro-Israel pundits of being a willing propagandists on behalf of Tehran, and for issuing anti-American statements and images at a moment US forces have come under attack in the Middle East.
Engaging in pornography can bring the death penalty in the hardline Islamic Republic. So how did this supposed "influencer" line up the strange junket which involved taking snaps (fully clothed) in and around the capital? Also did she have government-assigned minders to escort here (as is sometimes the case)?...
American porn star Whitney Wright is in Iran, my birth country, where women are killed for simply showing their hair and being true to themselves.
— Masih Alinejad 🏳️ (@AlinejadMasih) February 4, 2024
Whitney has published several photos on herself completely covered up on Instagram. On her post she called me a warmonger and tells… pic.twitter.com/MwBBsVorBJ
Strangely, even though there's no doubt Iranian foreign ministry authorities deeply vet especially Americans and other Westerners who wish to enter, Iranian officials are claiming "they didn't know" about her role in pornography:
In Tehran, foreign ministry spokesman Nasser Kanani denied any knowledge of her trip, but noted that despite the political tensions "it is not forbidden" for Americans to visit Iran.
A source told the Tasnim news agency that she was not invited by any organization in Iran and the visa system "was not aware of the nature of her immoral and obscene occupation".
At this point Wright has moved on in her travels and is safely out of Iran.
The whole spectacle of a porn actress inside Iran certainly does not seem very in keeping with old fashioned hardline Iranian 'Islamic Revolution' principles.