Iraqi-American beauty mogul Huda Kattan has denied accusations that she supports Iran’s ruling regime, saying she has been “wrongly” characterised after sharing anti-war content related to the unrest gripping the country.
The founder of Huda Beauty came under fire after reposting a video showing a pro-government protester in Iran burning images of Reza Pahlavi, the exiled son of the late Shah, who has sought to position himself as a potential leader amid weeks of deadly demonstrations.
The post prompted an online backlash, with critics accusing Kattan of regime propaganda. Some even posted videos of themselves destroying or discarding Huda Beauty products.
In a series of emotional video Instagram Stories, Kattan said claims that she was “pro-regime” were deeply upsetting.
“People out there are angry with me because they think I support the regime of Iran or I am supporting anything that is hurting Iranian people,” she said. “That’s just wild. I can’t believe anybody would think that I would support that.”
Kattan said she understood why emotions were running high, acknowledging the pain felt by Iranians inside the country and in the diaspora.
“I know a lot of people all over the world are very, very upset,” she said. “A lot of Iranians who’ve left Iran are very upset with what’s going on in Iran, and I really truly feel for a lot of people. And I also feel for a lot of people in Iran who are going through things that I just can’t imagine.”
She said did not believe she was informed enough to take a public position on Iran’s internal politics.
“Transparently, I’m not pro-regime,” Kattan said. “But I also don’t know enough about the regime. I’ve heard a lot of mixed things and I don’t think I have the right to have an opinion on what’s going on in Iran.
“This is just my opinion. I don’t believe that I have the right to have an opinion and to voice my opinion on something that is happening internally in a country.”
Kattan also rejected comparisons being drawn online between Iran and other geopolitical conflicts, including what is happening in Palestine.
“People are comparing it to Palestine and Israel. It’s very different,” she said. “There was a country oppressing another country. This is an internal issue.”
Her reluctance to call for regime change was shaped by her own experiences and family history, she added.
“As an Iraqi, we had internal issues. And we had America come save us,” Kattan said. “Guess what? Two-and-a-half decades later, the country is in shambles.
“And America and Israel have never done anything good for the Middle East,” she added. “You have to wonder why they want to go into any country in the first place.”
Kattan apologised if her original post had been misconstrued, but stopped short of endorsing calls for foreign intervention.
“I also want people to know I’m not going to go on here saying, ‘Yes, let’s create regime change,’ in a country where I have had that situation happen in my country. And it still hurts."
Her comments, however, drew sharp criticism from Moj Mahdara, the Iranian-American founder and chief executive of Beautycon, who accused her of minimising the scale of the violence in Iran.
In a video posted on social media after Kattan’s statement, Mahdara said she had previously asked Kattan to publicly support the Women, Life, Freedom movement, but claimed she had declined.
"You said you couldn’t do anything political. And here you are today, covering up the dirty work of the Islamic Republic," Mahdara said.
But, Mahdara added, her response came from a place of personal hurt rather than animosity.
“I love you,” she said. “But please be honest. You just hate America and Israel more than you love Iranians. Just say it.”
In her video, while acknowledging the suffering of Iranians under sanctions and repression, Kattan also said she was wary of solutions imposed from outside.
“We all want the best for people. We don’t want to see people oppressed,” she said. “But regime change by the hand of America is a scary thing. That scares me.
“I have Afghani friends. I have Libyan friends,” she added. “I don’t know if anybody is feeling grateful to America for what they did.”
She then said she would refrain from commenting further on Iran, calling the situation highly sensitive.
“I’m not going to continue saying things about Iran because this is a situation that I think a lot of people need to be very careful of," she said. “I really do hope the best happens for the people there."
