Huda Kattan Embroiled in New Scandal After Former BeautyCon CEO Calls Her out Over Iran

This isn't exactly the first time that Huda Beauty co-founder Huda Kattan has waded into international controversy. But this is the first time that she's gone toe to toe with another CEO.

Huda has been criticized in the past for sharing conspiracy theories about Israel's involvement in world events, but this time, all eyes are on her hot take about Iran.

Perhaps a little gun-shy because of the backlash she received over the Israel conspiracy theories, Huda seemed to want to avoid wading too deeply into another sensitive topic: Iran. However, her decision to sidestep and attempt to avoid another controversy itself sparked a scandal. Here's what we know about the newest Huda Beauty scandal.

In the past, Huda received major backlash for spreading conspiracy theories that Israel was involved with WWI, WWII, and even the 2001 attacks on the World Trade Center.

The theories also claimed that the Hamas attack on Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, was orchestrated by Israel. But, of course, Israel was founded in 1948, WWI ended in 1918, and WWII ended in 1945.

And the other theories are just as thin. She later apologized, claiming to be the victim of people twisting her words.

But in January 2026, she waded right into another controversy, this time over Iran. Huda was accused of displaying an image that seemed to support the regime in Iran, which has been violently cracking down on protests.

Instagram user @historyphotographed summarized the events as a video surfaced showing Huda claiming she didn't know much about the regime in Iran, in defense of her choice to post the image. Yet former BeautyCon CEo Moj Mahdara, a friend of Huda, called her out.

The Instagram post notes, "Moj claimed that Huda’s statement was not ignorance, but denial. According to her, she has sent Huda text messages explaining the situation in Iran, the regime’s abuses, and the reality on the ground."

Additionally, Moj accused Huda of “lying” and “covering the dirty work of the Islamic Republic." She added that it was impossible for "someone so informed and so connected to plead a lack of knowledge."

Moj isn't the only one furious at Huda's apparent attempt to close her eyes to international horrors. Fans quickly reacted to Huda's nonchalance by filming themselves pouring out her beauty products or declaring plans to boycott.

One Instagram user wrote, "She knows exactly what she did. Sorry i said what I said. That wasn’t a mistake."

And another user got more in-depth on the subject, writing, "Let’s be clear. Huda Kattan is siding with the Islamic Republic of Iran, a regime that has been killing its own people for 47 years. The irony? She’s Iraqi. Iraq lost hundreds of thousands of lives in the Iran–Iraq war, many at the hands of this same regime she now defends."

They added, "Her hatred for the U.S. seems louder than her outrage over Iranians being executed, imprisoned, and silenced. Yet it was the U.S. that gave her the freedom and platform to become a billion-dollar beauty mogul."

Huda later responded that she apologized for the way her actions hurt people, but stopped short of supporting regime change. She called Iran a situation "that people need to be very careful about."