07/12/2022 | Writer: Selma Koçak
Mabel Matiz’s award presentation was canceled by the organizers of GQ Türkiye - Men of The Year 2022 Awards on the day of the event.
Mabel Matiz’s award presentation was cancelled by the organizers of GQ Turkey - Men of The Year 2022 Awards on the day of the event, due to the censorship news and the following animadversion regarding the video clip of the song named “Karakol”, and they didn’t inform the artist.
Having been informed to whom he would present the award weeks ago and having confirmed the information two days before the award ceremony, Mabel Matiz participated in the ceremony. However someone else was invited to the stage to present the award, which was planned to be presented by Mabel Matiz.
Following the ceremony Matiz got in contact with a member of GQ Turkey team and learned firsthand that after a day along discussion in-between GQ Turkey staff, they had cancelled the award presentation of Mabel Matiz due to the censorship news and the following animadversion regarding the clip of the song named “Karakol”. Matiz had not been informed about the last-minute change.
Matiz shared the process with their followers by saying: “I still wanted to share this impoliteness and discrimination against me, and submitted it for public’s consideration.”
“This is not the first. I have a skin like a rhinoceros. I have experienced these kind of incidents in fits and starts, however they were not able to beguile me out of my way and my existence. Nor will they. I have always preferred not to dramatize the events and to keep going. Whether to present an award or not is not an issue anyway. However, I still wanted to share this impoliteness and discrimination against me, on a night full of sponsors where the main theme was co-existence and lots speeches regarding the topic were made, and submitted it for public’s consideration.
I think the censorship itself, and the huge miscommunication experienced specific to the incident, extremely wrong and impolite.
In our day along conversations with the members of GQ Turkey staff, they surely said that there could never be such censorship, the information received from a member didn’t reflect the reality and it was just an ‘organizational’ mistake. In an atmosphere where censorship is normalized by mobbing we don’t expect them to admit it. I apologize for occupying the agenda, which is already busy, with a minutiae. However I think it is essential to share these kind of experiences in order to raise collective consciousness and provide a sea change.
We will only be able to co-exist by accepting the existence of each other, by trying to understand each other and by gathering round each other. Only then we will able to wind up in a beautiful, spacious and brighter place. We need this consciousness in every moment of life.”
Tags: media, arts and culture
