DUBAI: Disney+ is facing a backlash over its decision to ditch plans to release a TV series about the life of Turkiye’s founding father, Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, with many people threatening to cancel their subscriptions to the streaming service.
The six-part series was due to be released on Oct. 29, the 100th anniversary of the founding of Turkiye. But Yenicag, a daily newspaper in the country, reported that it had been dropped by the platform.
According to local media reports, the decision was made in response to pressure from Armenian American advocacy groups who lobbied for the show to be canceled on the grounds that Ataturk, while an officer in the Ottoman army, was linked to the mass murder of Armenians that began in 1915, which is considered a genocide by some nations and international organizations.
Omer Celik, the deputy chairman of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s ruling Justice and Development Party, said in a message posted on Twitter that “it is a shame” that Disney+ “succumbed to the pressure of the Armenian lobby” and that it is “disrespectful to the values of the Republic of Turkiye and our nation.”
Amerika merkezli bir dizi/film platformunun Ermeni lobisinin baskısına boyun eğerek “Atatürk” dizisini yayınlamadan yayından kaldırması utanç vericidir.
Söz konusu platformun bu tutumu, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti’nin değerlerine ve milletimize saygısızlıktır.
— Ömer Çelik (@omerrcelik) August 1, 2023
He added that “the sole purpose of this lobby is to prevent the normalization of Turkiye-Armenia relations, as has been repeatedly seen.”
Many Turkish people took to social media to denounce the decision and say that they were canceling their Disney+ subscriptions, causing the hashtag #Disneyiptalet — Cancel Disney — to trend on Twitter.
What's this bullshit? Censorship at its worst. This is really disrespectful and I'm not just going to accept it. Already cancelled my subscription.#Disneyiptalet #DisneyPlusBoykot @DisneyPlus pic.twitter.com/BLXm4unOiQ
— cointherapy.eth (@CryptoGunnency) August 2, 2023
Where's the transparency, @Disney? Don't let a few lobbyists dictate the narrative. The Turkish community worldwide demands answers or #Disneyiptalet will continue. pic.twitter.com/MuWW0AvjCF
— Daily Turkic (@DailyTurkic) August 2, 2023
The Turkish state agency that regulates radio and television in the country said it had launched an investigation into the Disney+ decision.
“Gazi Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, the founder of our Republic of Turkiye, is our most important social value,” Ebubekir Sahin, chairperson of the Radio and Television Supreme Council, said in a tweet.
“The allegations of Armenian lobby intervention, which are reflected in the press, are meticulously investigated.”
“Disney +” isimli dijital medya hizmet sağlayıcının yerli içerik olan “Atatürk” dizisini platformunda yayınlamama kararı aldığına dair kamuoyuna yansıyan bilgilerden hareketle kuruluşun savunmasının alınmasına ve inceleme başlatılmasına karar verilmiştir.
Türkiye… pic.twitter.com/rbk5TKrfBv
— Ebubekir Şahin (@ebekirsahin) August 1, 2023
Disney’s Turkiye division said the decision was part of a “revised content-distribution strategy to reach a wider audience” and the series will instead be released as two films.
Saner Ayar, the producer of the series, said in a statement released by the company: “As part of the centenary celebrations, we’re proud to announce that we will be bringing ‘Ataturk’ to even more people from October through free-to-air Fox, followed then by a theatrical window where people can experience both (films) on the big screen.”
The statement did not give any explanation for the change of format from TV series to movies, or why the project had moved to Disney-owned Fox.
