American porn star Whitney Wright sparks anger after visit to Iran
An American porn star has sparked anger after visiting Iran – despite the risks of being detained and sentenced to the death penalty.
Whitney Wright, 32, filmed herself in Tehran and visited the abandoned US embassy which has been turned into an anti-American museum.
In remarks made on social media, Wright, whose real name is Brittni Rayne Whittington, said she “HAD to visit” the embassy where Iranian students held staff members hostage for 444 days after the 1979 Islamic Revolution.
“I’m sharing exhibits from a museum that are never seen,” Wright, from Oklahoma, wrote on Instagram in a since-deleted post. “It’s not an endorsement of the government.”
She filmed herself throughout the Iranian capital despite her work in pornography putting her at risk in theory to criminal charges that carry the death penalty.
Wright also posted several pictures of her visit, including one that showed her in a headscarf and conservative clothing – required by law in Iran – standing next to a lowered US flag at the former embassy.
Posting on her Instagram story on Monday, the adult actress said she doesn’t know “half of what is being said here, but I’m no longer in Iran, but elsewhere”.
Her visit comes in the wake of Iran imprisoning Nobel Peace Prize laureate and women’s rights activist Narges Mohammadi, as well as the country’s mandatory headscarf law and nationwide protests over the death in police custody of Mahsa Amini two years ago.
The entrance to the former US embassy – now an anti-American museum – in Tehran. Pic: AP
Backlash to visit
Masih Alinejad, a US-based activist who faced assassination and kidnapping 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”.
She wrote on X: “Iranian women don’t want to obey a discriminatory law. Rosa Parks stood up against racist laws in America and became a symbol of resistance.
“We the women of Iran want be like Rosa Parks and not Whitney Wright. And by the way, the true warmongers are the agents of the Islamic Republic who will execute you if you be true to yourself.”
Iranian actor Setareh Pesiani also said on Instagram: “You punish people of this country in various methods for removal of hijab but you allow a porn actress to come here for tourism!?”
Questions over visa
Under Iranian law, making pornography is illegal and can carry the death penalty.
Iran Human Rights reports that so far in 2024, some 74 people have been executed by the government.
US citizens also require a visa to visit the country, and it is unclear how the actress obtained one.
The semi-official Tasnim news agency, believed to be close to the Revolutionary Guard, quoted an anonymous official who claimed those who issued the visa were not “aware about the nature of her immoral job”.
Iran’s foreign affairs spokesman Nasser Kanani said during a weekly news conference: “Naturally, US citizens face no impediments in travelling to the Islamic Republic of Iran, and Iranian citizens are able to travel to the US.”
The US State Department, when asked about Wright’s trip, said it has warned Americans to avoid travelling to Iran and “exercise increased caution due to the risk of wrongful detention”.
Around 14 million people could die across the world over the next five years because of cuts to the US Agency for International Development (USAID), researchers have warned.
Children under five are expected to make up around a third (4.5 million) of the mortalities, according to a study published in The Lancet medical journal.
Estimates showed that “unless the abrupt funding cuts announced and implemented in the first half of 2025 are reversed, a staggering number of avoidable deaths could occur by 2030”.
“Beyond causing millions of avoidable deaths – particularly among the most vulnerable – these cuts risk reversing decades of progress in health and socioeconomic development in LMICs [low and middle-income countries],” the report said.
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USAID programmes have prevented the deaths of more than 91 million people, around a third of them among children, the study suggests.
The agency’s work has been linked to a 65% fall in deaths from HIV/AIDS, or 25.5 million people.
Eight million deaths from malaria, more than half the total, around 11 million from diarrheal diseases and nearly five million from tuberculosis (TB), have also been prevented.
USAID has been vital in improving global health, “especially in LMICs, particularly African nations,” according to the report.
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Established in 1961, the agency was tasked with providing humanitarian assistance and helping economic growth in developing countries, especially those deemed strategic to Washington.
But the Trump administration has made little secret of its antipathy towards the agency, which became an early victim of cuts carried out by the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) – formerly led by Elon Musk – in what the US government said was part of a broader plan to remove wasteful spending.
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What is USAID?
In March, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said more than 80% of USAID schemes had been closed following a six-week review, leaving around 1,000 active.
The US is the world’s largest humanitarian aid donor, providing around $61bn (£44bn) in foreign assistance last year, according to government data, or at least 38% of the total, and USAID is the world’s leading donor for humanitarian and development aid, the report said.
Between 2017 and 2020, the agency responded to more than 240 natural disasters and crises worldwide – and in 2016 it sent food assistance to more than 53 million people across 47 countries.
The study assessed all-age and all-cause mortality rates in 133 countries and territories, including all those classified as low and middle-income, supported by USAID from 2001 to 2021.
Thailand’s prime minister has been suspended after a leaked phone call with a senior Cambodian politician caused outrage.
An ethics investigation into Paetongtarn Shinawatra is under way and she could end up being dismissed.
The country’s constitutional court took up a petition from 36 senators, who claimed dishonesty and a breach of ethical standards, and voted 7 to 2 to suspend her.
Protesters gathered in Bangkok at the weekend. Pic: Reuters
The prime minister’s call with Cambodia’s former leader, Hun Sen, sparked public protests after she tried to appease him and criticised a Thai army commander – a taboo move in a country where the military is extremely influential.
Ms Shinawatra was trying to defuse mounting tensions at the border – which in May resulted in the death of one Cambodian soldier.
Thousands of conservative, nationalist protesters held a demo in Bangkok on Saturday to urge her to step down.
Her party is clinging on to power after another group withdrew from their alliance a few weeks ago over the phone call. Calls for a no-confidence vote are likely.
Deputy prime minister Suriya Juangroongruangkit will take over temporarily while the court looks into the case.
The 38-year-old prime minister – Thailand‘s youngest ever leader – has 15 days to respond to the probe. She has apologised and said her approach in the call was a negotiating tactic.
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The popularity of her government has slumped recently, with an opinion poll showing an approval rating of 9.2%, down from 30.9% in March.
Ms Shinawatra comes from a wealthy dynasty synonymous with Thai politics.
Her father Thaksin Shinawatra – a former Manchester City owner – and aunt Yingluck Shinawatra served as prime minister before her – in the early to mid 2000s – and their time in office also ended ignominiously amid corruption charges and military coups.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will be meeting Donald Trump next Monday, according to US officials.
The visit on 7 July comes after Mr Trump suggested it was possible a ceasefire in Gaza could be reached within a week.
On Sunday, he wrote on social media: “MAKE THE DEAL IN GAZA. GET THE HOSTAGES BACK!!!”
At least 60 people killed across Gaza on Monday, in what turned out to be some of the heaviest attacks in weeks.
Benjamin Netanyahu, left, with Donald Trump during a previous meeting. Pic: Reuters
According to the Hamas-run health ministry, 56,500 people have been killed in the 20-month war.
The visit by Mr Netanyahu to Washington has not been formally announced and the officials who said it would be going ahead spoke on condition of anonymity.
An Israeli official in Washington also confirmed the meeting next Monday.
White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said the administration was in constant communication with the Israeli government.
She said Mr Trump viewed ending the war in Gaza and returning remaining hostages held by Hamas as a top priority.
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The war in Gaza broke out in retaliation for Hamas’ 7 October 2023 attacks on southern Israel that killed 1,200 people and saw a further 250 taken hostage.
An eight-week ceasefire was reached in the final days of Joe Biden’s US presidency, but Israel resumed the war in March after trying to get Hamas to accept new terms on next steps.
Talks between Israel and Hamas have stalled over whether the war should end as part of any ceasefire.
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