Turkish singer Sıla Gençoğlu, some of whose concerts have been cancelled due to critical statements she made about a democracy rally held earlier this month, has had another of her concerts cancelled, the Cumhuriyet daily reported on Sunday.
The young singer refused to attend a democracy rally held in Istanbul on Aug. 7 that was protesting a failed coup attempt on July 15. She had said at the time, “I am absolutely against the coup, but I prefer not to be at such a show.”
Following her remarks, Gençoğlu attracted enormous criticism and even attacks from pro-government circles, which led to the cancellation of some of her concerts by local authorities.
The singer’s concert scheduled to take place at the ancient Bodrum Theater on Sept. 3 has been cancelled, with local authorities citing renovation work on the theater as the reason and saying that it will be closed on Sept. 3.
Serkan Güney, the singer’s manager, confirmed the cancellation, saying: “Some say that the final decision will be made on Monday. But I have already received written notice stating that the concert has been cancelled.”
When faced with growing criticism due to her remarks, Gençoğlu refused to back down and wrote from her Twitter account: “Of course those who wanted to take it wrong did so, but I stand by my words. Do not we say ‘democracy’? Well, I expressed my opinion and said what I thought.”
Melih Gökçek, the mayor of Ankara, was among those who publicly targeted the singer from his Twitter account, saying, “Ankara’s doors are closed to you from now on.”