Miss Turkey loses crown within hours
ISTANBUL: The winner of Turkey’s national beauty pageant was forced to hand back her crown on Friday, hours after winning, over a tweet relating to the failed coup that was deemed offensive.
Itir Esen, 18, won Miss Turkey 2017 during a ceremony here on Thursday night, and was going to represent the country in the Miss World competition in China.
But, organisers said that would not be possible after they discovered an “unacceptable” tweet Esen sent around the first anniversary of last year’s July 15 coup attempt aimed at ousting President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.
In the tweet, she compared the blood shed in her menstrual cycle with that of the 249 people who lost their lives during the failed coup, and are celebrated as martyrs in Turkey.
“I am having my period this morning to celebrate the July 15 martyrs’ day. I am celebrating the day by bleeding on behalf of our martyrs’ blood,” she wrote.
Organisers said they saw the tweet after the beauty contest’s results were announced, and had to hold an hour-long meeting to verify the post.
Can Sandikcioglu, head of Miss Turkey, said in a statement that the tweet was posted by Esen.
“The Miss Turkey organisation, whose goal is to promote Turkey in the world and contribute to its image, cannot accept such a post,” he announced.
Esen’s title was handed to Asli Sumen, who came in second. Sumen will represent Turkey in the Miss World contest in China on Nov 18.
In a message shared on her Instagram account, Esen said her post was written “carelessly”, but was not politically motivated. She apologised for any misunderstanding. AFP