Although getting good information is a challenge, it appears that as we write this there are massive protests in Iran, that the regime is trying to suppress them with atrocities, and there appears to be ordinary Iranians fighting back. We don’t know if there will be a successful revolution this time, but we are praying for it. And because JK Rowling actually cares about freedom, especially for women, she made it clear which side she supported:
If you claim to support human rights yet can’t bring yourself to show solidarity with those fighting for their liberty in Iran, you’ve revealed yourself. You don’t give a damn about people being oppressed and brutalised so long as it’s being done by the enemies of your enemies. pic.twitter.com/eK3jjh3pD6
JK Rowling is what a feminist looks like when that feminist is consistent.
This image of a woman burning Ayatollah Ali Khamenei’s picture while using the fire to light a cigarette is stylized, but not made up. It is one of several images of Iranian women doing that exact thing:
These women have more bravery in their pinky finger, than the entire UN Women organization. pic.twitter.com/yve1xTm6d2
For years, Glenn ‘Instapundit’ Reynolds argued that successful movements needed to have ‘protest babes.’ He might have a point. Sex sells and so does beauty, and if you want to sell a political idea or movement, having a pretty woman involved helps. Love it or hate it, it helps.
But this is arguably an upgrade: Move over ‘protest babes.’ Here comes the smoking, hot Iranian women!
(Please note our comma placement is extremely intentional and constitutes an inexcusably terrible pun.)
The image that Rowling’s ‘poster’ is taken from appears to be a still from this video:
Iranian woman lights her cigarette with a burning photo of the ayatollah. This is braver than anything an American feminist has done in the 21st century. Actual badass: pic.twitter.com/1nzV4lmwOh
That video is being shared by Clay Travis, who once said that he loves the First Amendment and boobs… So, this is all pretty in-character for him: Freedom of expression and a beautiful woman.
This also comes after Melissa Chen wrote this:
In a normal world, this badass photograph would be immortalized as an iconic feminist symbol.
It would be stylized, posterized and plastered all over merchandise marketed as empowering for young girls of this generation and beyond.
It’s the sheer audacity of Iranian women – unsheathed and in their full feminine glory – lighting up a cigarette almost nonchalantly, their pretty faces glowing in the light of a flickering flame from a burning picture of the Ayatollah Khamenei (their actual oppressor).
In this one act, they broke so many rules all at once, risking imprisonment, torture and death. It is dangerously titillating, especially in a world of sanitized corporate pride parades and student revolutionary LARPers on Ivy League campuses.
I don’t care what all the health bodies and governments have tried to push with their data-driven decrees and attempts to vilify smoking. It’s just cool.
While the technocrats discourage cigarettes in the name of ‘protecting bodies,’ Iranian women are wielding them to assert their liberty and as a symbol of rebellion against the regime.
I JUST LOVE IT
Well, it has already been posterized and nothing stops us from making all of Ms. Chen’s hopes a reality. We’d rather wear a T-shirt with one of these women on it than one with Che Guevara, the mass murdering racist communist.
This image shows that it isn’t just Khamenei’s poster that’s burning. The smoke rising from the cigarette shows burning human rights in Iran. No veil on the face, hair flowing freely, a cigarette on the lips. A longing for a free Iran.@melianouss you’re soul of Mahsa Amini🙌🏾🤌🏾 pic.twitter.com/6o7Va0Jg07
These women aren’t posting slogans or trying to run over law enforcement. They’re risking their lives for freedom.
For the record, we would be absolutely okay with the people seeking freedom in Iran trying to harm ‘law enforcement’ because they are the government, just as we were fine with the colonists harming the people enforcing British rule in America around 1776 or so. They are tools of the regime.
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So why do we support violence against law enforcement in Iran but not in America? Context makes all of the difference. ICE is attempting to enforce the law as created through a legitimate process in a true republic. Iran might pretend to be a republic, but it is only shallowly wearing the clothes of a republic. In truth, it is tyranny. And this author’s policy is sic semper tyrannis.
(That’s right. We have taken that noble phrase back from that evil idiot John Wilkes Booth.)
Now, strategically, it might be better to convert local police to the protesters’ side, or at least convince the police to be indifferent to the freedom fighters, rather than having a violent confrontation. We have seen reports of some local police looking the other way in the face of protesters. But that is a strategic consideration, not a moral one. Morally, they are part of the oppressive system.
Of course, we also saw a few people upset about the smoking such as this one:
I understand that there is a movement against oppression in Iran and that this is an iconic image of defiance, but smoking is extremely unhealthy and we should not be encouraging this. #IranRevolution2026pic.twitter.com/TZh3Nct22O
Honestly, maybe bring this up after we find out if the revolution has succeeded? This not the time to quibble. (Also, not sure why another face is photoshopped in.)
Meanwhile French women were showing their solidarity, allegedly:
The women of France stand in support with the women of Iran!
French right wing feminist activists from the “Collectif Nemesis” recreate the viral trend of Iranian women lighting their cigarettes with Khamenei.
Even the people who are indifferent to the cause can’t deny that this picture is iconic. pic.twitter.com/HDxB1OGXqG
— The Conservative Alternative (@OldeWorldOrder) January 11, 2026
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As for Rowling, there were a lot of people denouncing her for supposedly doing the work of Israel because she didn’t also denounce the so-called genocide in Gaza, such as this chowderhead:
You have revealed yourself!
You claim to support human rights but have said nothing about the genocide in Gaza!
You have learnt nothing from what happened in Libya and Syria.
You have sided with Imperialism against the oppressed people of the world.
But it doesn’t surprise us Rowling isn’t talking about the ‘Genocide in Gaza.’ Outside of Harry Potter’s wizarding world, we’re pretty sure she doesn’t typically talk about fictional things.
Still, there were positive responses and we found a few to be particularly interesting:
I grew up in Iran at the height of oppression. My world was ruled by fear, censorship, and silence. @jk_rowling books showed me a universe where courage beat fear. That kind of storytelling saves minds and lives in ways people in free countries rarely understand. https://t.co/pfZSS9gVeI
From what we are told, there is a kernel of truth in that, but the actual story is horrific. Iran is indeed one of the few Islamic countries that says that a man can become a woman. However, since the regime in Iran is horrifying and since homosexuality is banned there, if two men are caught having sex, authorities will coerce one of the men into becoming a woman (and presumably vice versa if two women are involved). Thus, by the regime’s horrific logic, it would no longer be a gay relationship. This should be something that people on all sides of the transgender controversy should condemn. Whether you believe a man can become a woman or not, every rational person should be opposed to forcing a man to become a woman against his will, and vice versa.
And we think every rational person does condemn this: We just don’t think ‘moslamic’ is one of those rational people.
Finally, we have been accused of following some kind of alleged ‘Rule 5’ when writing this post, we want to inform you that we don’t know what you are talking about…
Thinking of Robert Stacy McCain’s piece: “How to Get a Million Hits on Your Blog in Less Than a Year” where Rule 5 is that you should put pretty women on your website now and then.
Editor’s Note: Thanks to President Trump and his administration’s bold leadership, we are respected on the world stage, and our enemies are being put on notice.
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