Forced Politicization of Television Celebrities in Turkey

Abstract

AbstractPoliticized stars being banned, investigated, detained or exiled is not new to Turkey. But targeting of very popular television personalities with no or little political involvement indicates a new phenomenon. Drawing on this shift from partisan-based to casual-based activism and focusing on three recent examples who owe their international fame to the growing domestic TV drama industry in the country, this article seeks to understand why celebrities are targeted nowadays for...