Harassment Allegations Shake Türkiye’s Media Industry
- Esil Korkmaz
- 1 hour ago
- 7 min read
Outrage erupted on social media platforms a week ago when a woman came forward and shared screenshots of her Instagram direct message with Mesut Adlin, one of Türkiye's most popular photographers, in which Adlin is clearly flirtatiously messaging an underage girl.
It was alleged that Mesut Adlin persistently tried to communicate with a minor in the leaked messages. Adlin allegedly stated, "When are you available? Let's do something," "Do you want to do something?" and "Maybe we can do something after you get out," and sent messages like "I can come and pick you up" to the person in question.
Several other women have come out after the leaks, accusing Adlin of harassment. These women alleged that Adlin deleted the messages he sent after a certain period of time so as not to be exposed, and pointed out that he acts in a similar manner towards most of the female staff in his shoots. One woman mentioned that Adlin’s harassment went beyond persistent messages. She stated that at the age of 18, she responded to Adlin’s texts, agreeing to meet him at his home with the intention of chatting for an hour or so and leaving. However, the reality was far from what she had imagined. In her Instagram story, she revealed the traumatic visit:
“From the moment I entered, I felt that there was something strange because I was the only one talking; he seemed to answer my questions unwillingly. After a short time, even though he didn't get a signal from me in any way, he suddenly got on the couch and started kissing me. I was incredibly uncomfortable, of course; although I wanted to push him, I couldn't move much because he pounced on me and squeezed my neck. He later tried to take my hand to his genitals by force and then pressed my head to force me to perform oral sex, but I refused once again. After his trials, I stated that I didn't want to be sexual with him, and he stopped trying. I continued by emphasizing that I didn't come here for this and waited for him to say something because I didn't want things to get more complicated and traumatic, but he remained silent, almost signaling me to leave, and so I did. He later removed me from Instagram.”
The woman’s claim illustrates how Adlin’s behavior allegedly escalated from unsolicited messages to physical harassment once she agreed to meet him. Her account highlights how he ignored her discomfort and pressured her into unwanted sexual acts. The silence that followed, when he signaled her to leave without addressing what had just happened, and the lack of any mention of apologies underscore that the event was unlikely to be caused by misunderstandings and was intentional on Adlin’s part if the story turns out to be true. Her story is particularly significant because it moves the allegations beyond digital harassment into physical misconduct, amplifying public outrage.
The victim has also stated that she has only recently found the courage to speak up on the matter, encouraged by more women coming forward. She expressed her fear of being the only one with such a claim against a famous figure and being judged by the public for going to his house.
Adlin responded to the claim about him through his Instagram story, stating that he cut off communication when he learned the age of the person in the first leaked conversation. He also claimed that the screenshots were altered to create the deception that the conversation was ongoing when, in reality, most of the texts were sent much later, after the alleged victim was a legal adult. Furthermore, he responded to sexual harassment claims, stating that he never insisted on anything without the other party’s consent and has been careful about boundaries in both his personal life and relationships. He finished stating, “I am aware of the importance of women's statements and social sensitivity. Just being associated with such a matter is extremely distressing and damaging for me. I apologize to everyone for being brought into such an issue.”
Adlin’s statement drew mixed reactions. While some supporters pointed out his insistence on respecting consent, many argued that his words were clichés used by numerous predators, and his emphasis on his own distress seemed to overshadow the experiences of those coming forward. Thus, the response has done little to calm the growing backlash on social media, where calls for accountability and investigation continue to gain momentum.
As with every scandal, the public was expecting a cancellation campaign from other celebrities in order to help transform the affair into an investigation and advocate for change in the industry. However, their expectations were unfortunately not met.
Adlin has worked with almost every major figure in the Turkish media industry, such as Sıla Türkoğlu, Gülşen, Edis, Zeynep Bastık, and even Alizade. However, his collaboration with Manifest, a new Turkish girl group that has gained momentum in recent months, is what helped bring the issue into public attention. After the messages were leaked, they were reposted or shared on different platforms by Manifest fans who were concerned that the young women they idolized were working with a potential assaulter and pedophile. Therefore, the Manifest fanbase helped the accusations become mainstream and encouraged many other women to come forward. In line with that, Manifest was one of the first public figures to drop their collaboration with Adlin moving forward and stated that they will be investigating the matter to ease the concerns of the fans.
On the other hand, while people were expecting to see stories in favor of the victims, some figures like Gülşen displayed support for Adlin. Gülşen, a famous singer and songwriter, stated in her story that “everyone is innocent until proven guilty” and posted multiple stories defending Adlin against the possibility that the accusations are fake. Similarly, many artists with whom Adlin has worked haven’t unfollowed him on Instagram after the allegations. This created the impression that he isn’t being held accountable by everyone in the industry, and that although several women have come forward about harassment, he can continue his career with no damage if an investigation into the matter isn’t opened. Some of the names that are still following Adlin include Oğuzhan Uğur, Alizade, Mert Demir, and Mine Mücahid.
The controversy surrounding Mesut Adlin also served to bring other well-known accused persecutors to light, as it served as a reminder to the public that harassment of this kind is normalized and silenced in the industry. In order to prevent similar incidents from happening in the future and hold the harassers accountable, concerned users created numerous posts and threads on social media platforms to expose them. The names mentioned in the threads are mostly known for their roles in famous TV shows and were exposed by their coworkers. Some of the names included are Mesut Süre, Tayanç Ayaydın, Mehmet Yılmaz, Ahmet Kural, Anıl Emre Daldal, Resul Doğan, Kaan Sezyum, Yusuf Kurtucu, and Masis Aram Gözbek.
The name that caused the biggest controversy on social media was Anıl Emre Daldal, Mine Solak’s boyfriend, who is a member of Manifest. His mention in the threads sparked immediate outrage, as fans who had applauded Manifest’s action against Mesut Adlin saw a contradiction. Many pointed out that while the group had taken a clear stand against working with a photographer accused of harassment, one of its own members was in a relationship with a man accused of similar behavior. While the public expected her and every other member to immediately unfollow him on every platform and cut communications, Solak refrained from making any comments and unfollowed Daldal only after continuous pressure from the public and fans. The only statement from her regarding the topic was a story announcing that she had ended her relationship with Daldal after the backlash. Daldal posted a similar story and stated that all the allegations were fake. He also announced his decision to sue Solak and the manager of Manifest for posting the breakup announcement with different words than agreed upon by both parties.
These scandals also triggered broader conversations about what is considered harassment and what is classified as humor. In the past couple of months, Enes Batur, once a beloved Turkish YouTuber, seems to have gone on a rampage over his ex-girlfriend, Başak Karahan, who just got married. Enes Batur and Başak Karahan were once one of Turkey's most famous and loved social media couples, collaborating from 2015 to 2018 to produce popular YouTube content. However, in mid-2025, speculation surrounding their past reignited when Batur briefly set an old photo of them as his profile picture and then later changed his YouTube channel name to "Enes Batur karım da karım (Enes Batur my wife my wife)," which was seen by many as a provocative move before Karahan’s wedding. Furthermore, he changed one of the captions of his old posts to a confession, which read, "I think I cheated on Başak, but it's such meaningless talk that it's dragging on like the lie about whether to get married or not. Girls, don't exploit a man's feelings if you don't want to break up." However, this wasn’t all either, as he also posted a disturbing tweet stating, “This much is enough. Başak, I hope you are happy, but you know that you ate me first.”
The public initially thought Batur's actions were amusing, portraying him as an obsessed ex who lost the girl he so desperately needed and suffered a significant decline in popularity. However, as the other harassment allegations came to light, people realized that other cases were being overlooked, particularly due to unserious public attitudes like in Batur’s case. In response to Batur’s actions, Karahan filed a lawsuit on August 25, 2025, seeking a symbolic 5 Turkish pennies in moral damages. Her attorney described Batur’s behavior as "psychological violence and systematic harassment." She also initiated a protection order and lodged a criminal complaint.
An X user commented on the issue, stating that "the incident that you turned into a comedy element about Enes Batur going crazy was simply an obsessed guy's harassment of his ex-girlfriend, but I guess it took the woman filing a lawsuit for you to understand.”
The controversies surrounding the mentioned figures collectively illustrate the systemic issues of harassment in Türkiye’s creative industries and influencer scene. Celebrities and influencers stand against harassment when it is convenient, but remain quiet when accountability threatens their own circles, undermining the trust of fans. Whether these cases will mark a turning point or fade into yet another cycle of temporary outrage remains to be seen.
Edited by: Leyla Hacıoğlu
