Iranian-Americans Call “Shah’s of Sunset” Reality Show Racist [Video]
Bravo has its own Persian version of “Jersey Shore, and it is called Shah’s of Sunset. The real problem for the show right now is that it is not being supported by the Persian-American community. In fact, they are calling for a boycott.
The program, which premiered on Sunday night, showcases a group of six Persian people around LA as they search for love. Oh did we mention that they all seem to have unlimited amounts of cash? They are the children of the Iranians who escaped their country after the 1979 Iranian Revolution ended the reign of the Shah Reza Pahlavi.
Petitions are popping up all over encouraging Bravo to get rid of the Show. One in particular, “Protest Shahs of Sunset,” encourages signers to
“help the Persian community by signing this petition to end ‘Shahs of Sunset’ and other such racist, exploiting television programming.”
Another, says that the show promotes racial stereotypes of Persians, with one signer saying,
“The show wants to present caricatures of Iranian-Americans. This is not entertaining. Rather, it is racist and only encourages others who do not know Persians in our American society to feed into the worst kind of stereotype, rather than showing a new generation of ambitious yet hardworking Iranian-Americans.”
The show’s focus does seem to be on the characters’ frivolous sides. Golnesa ‘GG’ Gharachedaghi, the show’s spoiled brat constantly travels around buying expensive clothing. “Charge it to my Daddy” is one of her favorite sayings, and could end up being the series’ tagline.
One person who complained to Bravo said,
“Due to the current political climate between the United States and factions in the Middle East, I cannot see the benefit of this show. I think it is rather tasteless of you to show how the rich from the Middle East can settle here to continue their lives of opulence where there are still many who still struggle to continue with their daily lives, here and there.”
“Shahs” cast member Mike Shouhed, told Fox411
“The only reason people are petitioning is that they are 100 percent jealous that they aren’t on the show. All we are doing is hanging out and being ourselves. People are intrigued to learn more about our culture instead of automatically associating us with negative portrayals like terrorism. It humanizes us in a way.”
A rep for Bravo didn’t respond immediately to a request for comment.
Do you think Shah’s of Sunset is way too over the top?
