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Turkish Officials Slam Disney, Thousands Call for its Boycott Once Again

Thousands are calling for the boycott of the Walt Disney Company once again, and this time it’s because they chose to cancel a show.

Earlier this year, many called for a boycott of the Walt Disney Company, along with others like Target and Bud Light, for being woke. It’s a criticism that the Mouse House has faced time and again regarding the particular criticism of wokeness. Whether for their casting decisions in recent releases like The Little Mermaid or the permanent closure and retheme of Disney Park ride Splash Mountain at both Walt Disney World Resort and Disneyland Resort.

Splash Mountain Closing Date
The now-closed Splash Mountain at Magic Kingdom Park, Walt Disney World Resort, soon to reopen as Tiana’s Bayou Adventure / Credit: Disney

Read More: “Boycott Disney” Trends as It Joins Target and Bud Light as a Canceled “Woke” Company

Why Did Fans Call for the Boycott of Bud Light, Disney & Target?

Earlier this year, Bud Light came under fire for its collaboration with transgender influencer Dylan Mulvaney. On April 1, Mulvaney, who has openly talked about their transition, promoted Bud Light on their social media. Many took issue with this, for example, Kid Rock, and called for the boycott of Bud Light for partnering with Mulvaney.

Similarly, during Pride Month, retail store Target released some Pride Month-themed items; however, many voices also took issue with the LGBTQ+ merchandise, resulting in Target taking it off shelves, citing the safety of their staff.

Boycott Disney
A post from Jack Posobiec of “Human Events” on Twitter that in part resulted in a Twitter ban / Credit: @JackPosobiec; @realtanyatay

The Walt Disney Company, of course, is no stranger to this kind of boycott, especially due to their alleged “pandering to woke audiences” in recent years. The company has been accused of sexualizing and grooming children due to their content featuring LGBTQ+ characters like Lightyear, Elemental, and The Owl House; they have also been under fire for the upcoming German movie Pauline—which is making waves—or the “anti-white propaganda” in The Proud Family.

However, Disney has been facing these attacks for months and has become fairly adept in dealing with them (in that the company usually pleads the fifth). But now, there has been yet another call for Disney’s boycott from an unexpected community.

Mustafa Kemal Ataturk
Mustafa Kemal Ataturk / Credit: Flickr

Disney+ Announces a New Documentary About a Turkish Leader

Earlier this year, Disney+ announced a documentary called Atatürk. The documentary was about a former Turkish leader (referred to by some as the Turkish dictator) who was pivotal in Turkey becoming an independent nation. He was the key player in the Battle of Gallipoli—the turning point and downfall of the Ottoman Empire.

The documentary was set to release in late October.

Mustafa Kemal Ataturk
Mustafa Kemal Ataturk / Credit: Pakistan Standard

Read More: New Disney Series Called Out for Praising “Genocidal Killer”

Why Did Disney Cancel Atatürk?

However, while this might have made some happy, others called for Disney to take the Turkish series off the platform and cancel the Atatürk series. The Armenian National Committee of America called the leader a “genocidal killer” and called for Disney to cancel the series.

Disney initially handled the issue like they always do, staying silent, but eventually reportedly acquiesced and canceled the series, leading to “Turkish authorities strongly [condemning] the American-based streaming platform’s decision.”

As TRT World reported,

Thousands called for a boycott of the streaming service based in the United States over its decision to cancel the series — which was expected to begin streaming on October 29 — that is based on the life of Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, the founder and first president of the Republic of Türkiye.

Rumours of alleged interference by the Armenian lobby in the US and its role in the cancellation also elicited condemnations by Turkish government officials.

In addition, Türkiye’s governing AK Party’s spokesperson, Omer Celik, strongly condemned the platform’s decision, calling it shameful and disrespectful to Türkiye’s values and people.

“Such actions are an attempt to distort historical events for their political agenda,” Celik added.

At this moment, it is unclear what the future of the series will be following its reported removal from Disney+.

Priyanka Kumar

Priyanka is a writer, artist, avid reader, and travel enthusiast based in Chicago. In her free time, she is probably walking by the lake, catching up on the latest releases on TV, or spending inordinate amounts of time rewatching Moana, Encanto, and her Disney Channel life-long favorites Zack and Cody wreak havoc on the Tipton.

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