Majority of Turkish public do not back Erdogan over “slut” debate

An overwhelming majority of Turkish public considered the word “slut” that President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has used to refer to Gezi Park protestors as an insult, according to a recent survey by MetroPoll. 

The poll showed that 83 percent of the participants said it is an insult, while only 13.8 percent not agreeing so, Ozer Sencar, the head of MetroPoll, said in a Twitter post on Monday. 

Even 70.5 percent of Erdogan’s ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) voters found the word as an insult, according to the poll.

Public view of the “slut” debate https://t.co/XIvCNmm7yC

— Ozer Sencar (@ozersencar1) July 18, 2022

Erdogan called the Gezi Park protestors “sluts,” in a speech addressing his ruling AKP members, on the ninth anniversary of the protests on June 1.  

“They [Gezi protestors] are rotten, they are sluts,” he said, prompting an outrage and widespread criticism in public. Several opposition parties, including the main opposition Republican People's Party (CHP), filed criminal complaints against Erdogan over his remarks. 

The 2013 protest in Gezi Park started as a small demonstration in Istanbul’s historical Taksim Square against AKP’s plans for building a shopping mall on a green space, but lead to county-wide protests after the police violently intervened to the protestors. Eleven people were killed during the events.