Whitney Wright’s Visit to Iran Earns Anger, Confusion, Criticism

Awarded Adult Star’s Visit Was Meant to Raise Gaza Awareness

It’s not uncommon for adult performers to travel nationally or internationally. But AVN-Award-winning porn star Whitney Wright’s trip to the Islamic Republic of Iran raised more than just eyebrows on the part of both Iranian hardliners and dissidents. According to Wright during an interview for Newsweek, the visit was a form of activism and part of her “speaking out on Gaza.”

Wright, who entered the porn industry in the mid-2010s and won the Best Actress Award in 2019, has not been quiet about her support for the Palestinian people during Israel’s ongoing assaults on Gaza as part of its war on Hamas after its deadly October 7 attack on Southern Israel. But her decision to visit Iran let alone the tourist spots she chose to explore, has sparked harsh criticism due to the country’s hard-right government’s treatment of women, LGBT citizens, racial and cultural minorities, and freedom of expression. In particular, the 2022 death of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini while in police custody for allegedly not respecting the nation’s dress code and the incarceration of Nobel Peace Prize laureate Narges Mohammadi for promoting women’s rights.

Among the statements that outraged Iranian exiles was Wright’s alleged online insistence to women that “If you respect the law, you will be safe in Iran.” Given that the American porn actress shared photos of herself adhering to the nation’s infamously strict dress code by wearing a headscarf, long coat, and roomy pantsuit, opponents believe she was referring to the so-called “hijab and chastity bill.” After Amini’s suspicious death, the nation was rocked by protests, with some women publicly removing their hijabs and cutting their hair in defiance.

Because Wright’s X account had been removed at the time, Newsweek said it was unable to verify her comments on the social media platform. Nonetheless, Iranian-American journalist and New York City-based dissident Masih Alinejad, referred to it in a tweet that included an assurance that “Iranian women don’t want to obey a discriminatory law” that has led to the death of women “for simply showing their hair and being true to themselves.”

During her visit to the country, Wright took in the sights at Saadabad Palace, the International Arts Museum, and the former U.S. Embassy in Tehran, abandoned after 66 embassy staff were held as hostages for up to 444 days. The crisis arose when Iranian students supporting Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini after the 1979 Islamic Revolution took over the embassy. Relations between the two countries have been deeply damaged due to the siege and the embassy is now under the control of the paramilitary Revolutionary Guard, who runs it as an anti-American museum. Further infuriating critics was a photo of her standing outside of the former embassy next to a flagpole that tethered a lowered and torn American flag.

Insistences on Instagram by Wright that her visit was not an endorsement of its message have not been well-received. She told Newsweek that she is “extremely disappointed that the attention surrounding my visit [seems] to overshadow Israel’s ongoing genocide in Gaza.” During her visit, Wright allegedly condemned Iran for not celebrating members of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine.

Setareh Pesiani, an Iranian actor, wrote on Instagram that “You punish people of this country in various methods for removal of hijab but you allow a porn actress to come here for tourism!?” The commercial production of pornography became illegal in Iran in 2007 and a conclusion of guilt can lead to the death penalty, which theoretically could expose Wright to criminal charges because she filmed herself throughout her trip to Tehran and works in a forbidden entertainment industry.

Although France-based Association Femme Azadi wrote on X that “Whitney Wright, an American porn star was invited to Tehran to promote the Islamic Republic,” foreign ministry rep Nasser Kanani said he had no knowledge of the trip, but that Americans are not prevented from visiting Iran. The Tasnim news agency, which has a semiofficial relationship with the Revolutionary Guard, cited an anonymous source that said the government had neither invited the porn star nor been “aware of the nature of her immoral and obscene job.”

The stop looks to have been part of Wright’s travel through Egypt, Lebanon, and Morocco. Not the first porn star to visit Iran and prompt criticism, British performer Candy Charms traveled there in 2016 for a nose job. Former performer Mia Khalifa is of Arab-Lebanese heritage and has spoken out frequently in support of Palestinian rights, which has earned her both condemnation and praise.

No Iranian media reported on Wright’s visit, which may be a result of the tight control the government has exercised on journalists since the 2022 demonstrations. In response to questions about the performer’s visit, the U.S. State Department issued a warning through the Associated Press to Americans urging them to avoid Iran and “exercise increased caution due to the risk of wrongful detention.”