Queer Turkish pop star indicted for "obscene" music video showing two men dancing fully clothedhttps://www.lgbtqnation.com/2026/10/queer-turkish-pop-star-for-music-video-showing-two-men-dancing-fully-clothed/ 🔗Alex Bollinger (1 Oct 2026)
A queer pop star in Turkey is facing obscenity charges for showing two men dancing together in a music video.
A court in Istanbul received an indictment from Turkish prosecutors who claim that Mabel Matiz's video for "Ha Leyli" violates the country's obscenity laws. If convicted, he could get six months to three years in prison and a fine.
The video shows a wedding, with different guests and members of the wedding party depicted. Matiz and the groom look at each other throughout the video. At the end, everyone is tired on the ground, while two men – the groom and Matiz – are still dancing. They are shown dancing with rapid arm movements, but they don't touch.
The indictment notes that the groom has removed his jacket for that part of the video. He is still wearing a vest and a shirt.
Matiz denied that that part of the video is obscene.
"Two people looking at each other and dancing together is not a crime," he told prosecutors in August, according to Turkish Minute. He said the video is art and open to interpretation. He said that claims that it is obscene are related to the fact that he is out as queer.
The indictment comes as President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan's authoritarian regime cracks down on LGBTQ+ people, as part of its "My Family is Safe" initiative, ostensibly to combat falling birth rates.---------------------------
@Sarah B
