Reza Farahan, who appears on cabler
Bravo's Shahs of Sunset, has said he decided to join the
reality series to help struggling gay teens.
Farahan, 38, who was born in Tehran,
Iran and raised in Beverly Hills, is among the group of six young
Persian-American friends featured in Bravo's newest reality series.
Appearing on ABC's The View,
Farahan said he wanted to do the series to bring awareness to the
Persian-American community.
“The only reason I did the show was
to bring exposure to something that is so taboo. So many people
commit suicide, they live, you know, fake lives, they get married,
they're miserable. And I thought, if I put myself out there, I'm
strong enough to take whatever heat anyone has to give – whether
it's about the stereotypes or about being gay. But if it can help
someone who is struggling with their sexuality, give me all the heat.
I'm good with it,” Farahan said.
Farahan added that it was difficult
growing up as a gay Persian-American: “Growing up, there's a lot of
homophobia. So, I would hear things. Jokes, you know serious
discussions about how disgusting it is and how we should all be cast
away on some island somewhere, we should all be dead. All that
stuff. And it really hurt me, it devastated men. But I was strong
and somehow I made it through.” (The video is embedded in the
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