Blocked and Reported

Premium: Huda Kattan vs. Diaspora Iran

March 4, 2026

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  • The premium episode of Blocked and Reported focuses on the online discourse surrounding the situation in Iran, specifically contrasting geopolitical events with the controversial commentary from beauty influencer Huda Kattan. 
  • A significant portion of the preview is dedicated to dissecting an episode featuring Helen Lewis, where the hosts heavily critique Lindy West's relationship dynamics and her justification for her partner's non-monogamy based on racialized concepts of historical ownership. 
  • The hosts provide a brief history lesson on the Iranian Revolution of 1979, the subsequent rise of the Islamic Republic, and the political alienation of the highly successful Iranian diaspora, setting the stage for the main topic involving Huda Kattan's intervention in the Iran discourse. 

Segments

Premium Episode Preview
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(00:00:00)
  • Key Takeaway: The premium episode of Blocked and Reported focuses on Huda Kattan’s controversial entry into the Iran discourse.
  • Summary: The episode is a premium offering from Blocked and Reported. It explicitly avoids deep geopolitical analysis of the Israel-U.S.-Iran conflict. Instead, the focus is on beauty influencer Huda Kattan’s engagement with the Iran discourse.
Lindy West Episode Follow-up
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(00:00:55)
  • Key Takeaway: Lindy West’s partner, Aham, justified non-monogamy by framing monogamy as a system of ownership rooted in slavery, a justification West accepted due to her own whiteness.
  • Summary: The hosts review a prior episode featuring Helen Lewis and author Lindy West, focusing on West’s polycule arrangement involving her husband, Aham, and another woman. Aham claimed monogamy is a system of ownership stemming from slavery, which West rationalized by admitting she didn’t feel the issue as keenly because she is white. An AI analysis confirmed this racial framing served to invalidate West’s personal boundaries as mere privilege.
Iran Geopolitical Context
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(00:08:20)
  • Key Takeaway: The Iranian diaspora, largely composed of highly educated and entrepreneurial exiles, fiercely opposes the current Islamic regime established after the 1979 revolution.
  • Summary: The hosts contextualize the recent death of Ayatollah Ali Khamenei by reviewing the history of the Iranian monarchy, its overthrow in 1979, and the subsequent imposition of Sharia law, which mandated the hijab. The revolution created a large, politically engaged diaspora that generally favors overthrowing the current Islamist government. Iran’s current economic struggles are attributed by critics to corruption and funding proxy groups rather than solely to Western sanctions.
Huda Kattan Introduction
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(00:09:07)
  • Key Takeaway: Huda Kattan is a massive global beauty entrepreneur whose empire, Huda Beauty, was significantly boosted by endorsements from figures like Kim Kardashian.
  • Summary: Huda Kattan is described as far more than a typical beauty influencer, heading a massive beauty empire founded after starting as a makeup artist and blogger in 2010. Her brand gained major traction after receiving approval from Kim Kardashian for her false eyelashes. Her brand boasts 57 million Instagram followers, and her sister Mona leveraged Huda’s success to launch a major Gen Z perfume brand.