After Netflix Turkey announced it would add popular US sitcom Friends to its catalogue, Yeni Akit, a conservative newspaper with ties to Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan claimed the show was ‘depraved’.
In an article headlined ‘Netflix hopes to target our young people with the depraved TV show Friends‘, the paper argues that the show promotes the ideas of “homosexuality, incest, infidelity, sexual scenes, drugs and child abuse”.
It went on to say that Netflix was “injecting all kinds of debauchery” into the minds of viewers.
The article also included an image of the cast of Friends which blurred out the arms of actresses Lisa Kudrow, Jennifer Aniston and Courtney Cox.
The newspaper has been criticised in the past for promoting anti-Semitism, homophobia, targeting journalists by claiming they supported the Kurdistan Workers’ Party, and for publishing a full page honouring Osama bin Laden after his death.
Previously, Netflix Turkey received backlash after rumours emerged on Twitter than an LGBTQ+ character would appear in Love 101, a program aimed at teams.
Yeni Akit quoted Ebubekir Sahin, President of the Radio and Television Supreme Council as having said “we will not tolerate broadcasts that are contrary to the national and spiritual values of our society.”
Feature Image: Yeni Akit
