Miss Turkey 2017 stripped of her crown over 'unacceptable' tweet  

Miss Turkey 2017: Itir Esen stripped of crown over coup tweet
Miss Turkey 2017: Itir Esen was stripped of her crown over a tweet about last year's coup

Miss Turkey 2017’s winner has been stripped of her crown over an “unacceptable” past tweet about last year's attempted government coup.

Itir Esen was dethroned just 24 hours after winning the national beauty pageant over the comments she posted in July.

The 18-year-old caused a social media storm after comparing her period to the spilt blood of “martyrs” who died in the coup.

Miss Turkey contestants 
The Miss Turkey contestants  Credit: Getty 

“I got my period on the morning of the July 15 martyrs' day. I'm marking the day by bleeding as a representation of the martyrs' blood,” she wrote, according to Turkish media reports.

However, organisers only became aware of the tweet after crowning her winner of the competition.

Can Sandikcioglu, who heads the Miss Turkey Organisation, said the now-deleted tweet was “unacceptable” and confirmed it was posted from the teenager’s account following an investigation.

"We are sad to announce that we have reached the conclusion that the tweet was posted by Itir Esen," he said.

“It is not possible for the Miss Turkey Organisation, whose aim is to promote Turkey worldwide and to contribute to its image, to accept such a posting.”

Itir Esen
Itir Esen Credit: AP

Almost 250 people were killed and more than 2,000 injured in the coup attempt against Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

Ms Esen apologised via her Instagram account for “being misunderstood” and said her post was not politically motivated.

“I want to say that as a 18-year-old girl, I had no political aims while sharing this post,” she wrote. “I was raised with respect for the homeland and the nation.”

It’s not the first controversy to rock the competition, in 2016 a former Miss Turkey received a suspended prison sentence for insulting Mr Erdogan on social media.

 

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