Iranian Sex Tape Scandal - Response

Response

The tape and the publicity surrounding it caused a massive scandal in Iran, such that Iran's fundamentalist clerics have labeled it a "national shame". Tehran's hardline chief prosecutor Saeed Mortazavi has even intervened, ordering a special investigation. Iranian politician Ghorbanali Dorri-Najafabadi also became involved, demanding Ebrahimi (but not Mr. X) be stoned to death. Ebrahimi was interrogated at length by the Iranian authorities, but was never charged with any crime. While Narges was on hiatus while the scandal broke, producers of two films in which Ebrahimi starred were advised by Iranian authorities not to release the films while the investigation was ongoing. As of 2010, these films still had not been released. One of them, Journey to Hidalou was reviewed for compliance with Islamic law by Javad Shamaqdari, Iran's deputy culture minister for film. He said that the film was a good one, but could not be released with Ebrahimi in it, and suggested that her scenes be re-shot with a different actress. The film's director, Mojataba Raei, has reportedly refused to re-shoot Ebrahimi's scenes. Shamaqdari suggested it would take a religious fatwa to approve Ebrahimi's films for release.

For a time Ebrahimi was rumored to have attempted suicide because of all the negative media attention after her police interrogation. The worry that something may have happened to her grew worse when she was forbidden from speaking in public by the Iranian authorities. To quell the rumor, she ultimately made a statement to the ILNA news agency: "I just want to tell my country’s people that I am alive. I should think of Iranian women’s strength and defend the respect of the girls and women of my nation." Even months and years after the scandal first broke, the case became a cultural touchstone in Iran, much in the same way the O. J. Simpson murder case had been in the United States, acting as a lightning rod for people to talk about changing attitudes toward sexuality and state authority in private life. While the response of the conservative government was one of outrage, many Iranians viewed the scandal coolly, and were reluctant to place blame on the woman in the tape.

Ebrahimi flatly denies that she is the woman in the tape. In an interview with the Guardian UK, she said, "I watched the film after I heard about the fuss from colleagues and the girl in it is not me. I admit there are some similarities to the character I played in Narges. It is possible to use studio make-up to have a person look like me. I have some knowledge of montage techniques and I know you can create a new face by distorting the features of another person."