Miss Turkey 2017 stripped of her crown due to a tweet which seems to support last year’s coup attempt
On September 22, 2017, Turkish and international media reported that the winner of Miss Turkey 2017, Itir Esen, was stripped of her crown just a few hours after winning the beauty pageant, due to a tweet she posted around the anniversary of the July 15, 2016 coup attempt, in which she sympathized with the martyrs.
In her message, she allegedly compared her menstrual cycle to the spilt blood of the martyrs of the coup in Turkey.
She wrote: “I am having my period this morning to celebrate the July 15 martyrs’ day. I am celebrating the day by bleeding a representation of our martyrs’ blood.” It should be noted, however, that Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan regularly uses the term “martyrs” to refer to those who died resisting the coup.
In its announcement, the Miss Turkey Organization stated: “We regret to say that this tweet has been tweeted by Itir Esen. It is not possible for the Miss Turkey Organisation to promote such a post, when it aims to introduce Turkey to the world and contribute to its image.” Itir Esen’s details were removed from the pageant website.
Esen has reportedly removed all photos taken during the pageant from her social media accounts. Furthermore, it seems that her Twitter account in no longer active.
Esen later responded with her own statement on social media: “I want to say that as an 18-year-old girl, I had no political aims while sharing this post.” She apologized for being misunderstood, adding, “I was raised with respect for the homeland and the nation.”
