Dr. Sheila Nazarian Warns Elizabeth Banks and Public Figures Over Ignored Health Risks

When Dr. Sheila Nazarian stepped onto the set of “America’s Newsroom” this Wednesday, her message wasn’t just another celebrity spat—it was a direct challenge to the conscience of American privilege, and it landed with particular resonance in communities where immigrant voices shape the local fabric. Speaking from her Beverly Hills practice, the Iranian-American plastic surgeon didn’t mince words as she addressed Elizabeth Banks’ recent comments about White women voters, framing the actress’s silence on Iran’s escalating crackdown against female protesters as a betrayal of feminist principles. “You’re sitting there on your cushy couch talking about Kamala Harris…Where are you when the women need you? You’re a fake, you’re a hypocrite,” Nazarian declared, her voice carrying the weight of personal history—she fled Iran as a child amid revolution and now watches helplessly as the regime prepares to execute its first female protester linked to the Mahsa Amini movement.

This isn’t abstract geopolitics for Nazarian; it’s a lived reality that echoes in the stories of her patients and neighbors across Southern California. In Los Angeles County alone, over 180,000 Iranian-Americans call the region home—the largest concentration outside of Iran—with thriving enclaves in Westwood (often dubbed “Tehrangeles”), Glendale, and Irvine. These communities have long served as cultural bridges, preserving Persian traditions while advocating for human rights back home. The current crisis hits especially close: Nazarian referenced over 650 executions in Iran within just three months, a staggering acceleration that includes activists, artists, and now women facing death sentences for daring to protest mandatory hijab laws. For local Iranian-American families, many of whom still have relatives in Iran, each headline brings renewed anxiety—phone calls that head unanswered, social media blackouts that sever ties, and the haunting possibility that a loved one could become the next name on an execution list.

The doctor’s critique extends beyond Hollywood to question selective outrage in American civic spaces. She pointedly noted how public figures readily champion domestic causes while ignoring systemic violence abroad—a dynamic observable even in local Los Angeles politics. Consider how Angeles Council members routinely pass resolutions on global human rights issues yet rarely address Iran’s gender apartheid in official statements, despite constituent pressure from Iranian-American advocacy groups like the National Iranian American Council (NIAC) based in nearby Washington D.C. With strong L.A. Outreach. Similarly, institutions such as UCLA’s Center for Near Eastern Studies host academic panels on Iranian feminism, but grassroots mobilization often relies on smaller, volunteer-driven collectives like United for Iran, which coordinates letter-writing campaigns and sanctions advocacy directly impacting detained protesters’ families.

What Nazarian’s message reveals is a dangerous disconnect between performative allyship and sustained action—a gap that manifests in tangible ways for immigrant communities navigating dual loyalties. When Hollywood elites frame feminism solely through domestic electoral politics while ignoring state-sanctioned executions of women abroad, it sends a message that some lives are inherently less worthy of defense. This selective empathy has real consequences: it emboldens authoritarian regimes by reducing international pressure, complicates asylum processes for those fleeing persecution (as seen in backlogs at the Los Angeles Asylum Office), and isolates diaspora communities who feel their grief is invisible to the wider public. The irony isn’t lost on local activists: while Elizabeth Banks expressed confusion over White women’s voting patterns on a Bustle podcast, Iranian-American women in Los Angeles have been organizing weekly vigils outside the Federal Building in downtown L.A., translating protest chants into Farsi and English to demand accountability for executions they watch unfold via encrypted apps smuggled out of Iran.

Given my background in community journalism and immigrant advocacy, if this trend impacts you in Los Angeles—whether you’re part of the Iranian-American community seeking ways to support loved ones abroad, an ally looking to move beyond social media posts, or simply a resident concerned about how global human rights crises affect local cohesion—here are three types of local professionals you need to know:

• Cultural Liaison Specialists at Ethnic Community Centers: Gaze for professionals affiliated with organizations like the Iranian American Society or the Council of Iranian American Organizations who understand both the cultural nuances of Persian immigrant families and the practical realities of advocacy work. Effective liaisons won’t just translate languages—they’ll help bridge generational gaps in how elders process trauma from the 1979 revolution versus younger activists engaging with current protests, and they’ll know exactly which local officials (like those at the Los Angeles County Commission on Human Relations) to approach for statements or resolutions.
• Immigration Attorneys with Asylum Expertise: Seek lawyers admitted to the State Bar of California who specifically list asylum and humanitarian parole as practice areas, particularly those with experience before the Los Angeles Asylum Office or the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals. The best practitioners will have verifiable success rates with Iranian cases, understand the evolving evidence requirements for protest-related persecution claims (including social media evidence and country condition reports from sources like the Iran Human Rights Documentation Center), and offer clear communication about processing times that currently stretch beyond two years due to regional backlogs.
• Trauma-Informed Counselors Familiar with Displaced Communities: Prioritize clinicians licensed by the California Board of Behavioral Sciences who advertise experience with refugee populations, political trauma, or intercultural competence—ideally those affiliated with trusted local entities like the Didi Hirsch Mental Health Services or the Refugee Mental Health Program at LAC+USC Medical Center. Effective counselors will recognize how collective trauma manifests in diaspora settings (such as anniversary reactions to historical events or vicarious trauma from monitoring protests abroad) and use evidence-based approaches like narrative exposure therapy while respecting cultural stigmas around mental health that may prevent some community members from seeking help.

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