Mariah Carey will grace the cover of a new free magazine for Turkey’s LGBTI community which comes out tomorrow
US pop singer Mariah Carey will be the cover model for the first issue of a new free magazine for Turkey’s LGBTI community which comes out tomorrow.
The Hurriyet Daily reports that Carey was enthusiastic about being a part of the project when contacted by staff at GayMag magazine.
An interview with Turkish actress and singer Hülya Avşar also appears in the first issue and staff at GayMag are confident that other Turkish celebrities will want to appear in the magazine in future issues.
GayMag editor-in-chief Emir Akgün told the Hurriyet Daily that he hoped to raise the profile of the LGBTI community in Turkey through the magazine.
‘We want to break all of the taboos, but step by step,’ Akgün said.
‘It’s like everybody was waiting for it for a long time. It is completely normal that there are people against it, though there will certainly be people who like it. We are not reinventing the wheel, the publication of GayMag is itself a big step to break taboos in the first place.’
The magazine has secured sponsorship from a dating app which will cover the costs of its first 12 months of printing and it will be available through D&R stores across Turkey.
LGBTI themed publications have been controversial with Turkish authorities in the past and an issue of Kaos GL magazine was banned in 2006 because it was deemed to be ‘pornographic.’
Homosexuality has been legal in Turkey since 1858 though it is widely frowned upon and there is no legal recognition of same-sex relationships in the country.
Hurriyet Daily writes: The first cover has quite surprisingly been dedicated to the American pop diva Mariah Carey, who was interviewed by the magazine’s music editor Cenk Erdem and gave a very warm response.
Turkish fans can read the whole Mariah Carey interview HERE! Alternatively an English translation can be read HERE!
Source: Gay Star News