Woman lynched for not remembering Atatürk's name speaks out: No one can question me

Kamile Bağcı, a 24-year-old female entrepreneur from Denizli who participated in the game show 'Who Wants to Be a Millionaire', suddenly became a trending topic in Turkey after giving an incorrect answer to the 5th question, which led to her elimination, due to the excitement she experienced.

When asked the question, "What is the name of the mathematics teacher who gave the name 'Kemal' to Mustafa Kemal Atatürk?", the contestant, caught between the options of Kemal and Mustafa, said, "I am stuck between the options of Mustafa and Kemal, but I cannot be sure.

I do not want to use my jokers either," and gave the answer Kemal. After the program host Oktay Kaynarca said, "Both of our names are Mustafa, let yours be Mustafa Kemal," the contestant from Denizli, Bağcı, realized she had given the wrong answer and felt great sadness for being eliminated and, most of all, for not being able to remember Atatürk's name due to her excitement. Anticipating that she would be subject to criticism after the competition, Bağcı began to go through difficult days following thousands of messages and comments that reached the level of lynching and insults.

"I WAS LYNCHED BY THOUSANDS OF PEOPLE, MANY OF WHICH WERE INSULTS"

Stating that she expected to be subject to criticism after the competition but was saddened that she was lynched by thousands of people she did not know in one night and that many of them were at the level of insults, Kamile Bağcı said, "I guessed that I would be subject to criticism after the competition, but I never thought it would reach the level of insults. I was subjected to the lynching of thousands of people I did not know in one night, and these were persistent. Thousands of messages came to my message box and my store's WhatsApp line. I am a person open to criticism, but it is very sad that many of them were at the level of insults," she said.

"A WRONG ANSWER CANNOT MAKE ANYONE QUESTION MY LOVE AND RESPECT FOR ATATÜRK"

Expressing that she was excited during the program and that many known things are forgotten with the excitement of that moment, Bağcı said, "Competing on a television program is truly a great excitement. At that moment, I could not remember something I knew due to excitement; as you can imagine, it is not something we experience constantly.

The question I answered incorrectly was about Mustafa Kemal Atatürk. I have never experienced such competition excitement before. People forget many things they know under those conditions. I am sorry for giving such an answer to a question about our national value due to the excitement and atmosphere of the competition. But the wrong answer I gave here cannot make anyone question my love and respect for Atatürk. I thank you for the criticisms, but I think it is also important to have a little empathy in such situations," she said.