Türkiye: Bullied for her looks, Türkiye's 'Avatar Woman' now challenges prejudice.

SHOTLIST ISTANBUL, TÜRKIYE (JULY 27, 2026) 1. VARIOUS OF CHILDHOOD PHOTOGRAPHS OF EBRU ERDEM 2. VARIOUS OF EBRU ERDEM SITTING AT TABLE, APPLYING MAKEUP WHILE LOOKING INTO HANDHELD MIRROR 3. MEDIUM OF ERDEM POSING FOR PHOTO IN DIMLY LIT AREA, WITH SHADOWS PARTIALLY COVERING HER FACE (2 SHOTS) 4. ERDEM SITTING AT CAFE, DRINKING TEA (2 SHOTS) 5. VARIOUS OF ERDEM BROWSING CLOTHING STORE 6. MEDIUM OF ERDEM WEARING BLACK HAT INSIDE STORE 7. ERDEM WEARING DECORATIVE FEATHER HAIR ACCESSORY, LOOKING AT HERSELF IN MIRROR 8. MEDIUM OF ERDEM STANDING AND POSING FOR PHOTO AS TRAM PASSES BEHIND HER 9. (SOUNDBITE) (Turkish) EBRU ERDEM, KNOWN AS "AVATAR WOMAN," SAYING: “I’m very happy with my life. No matter how much people attack me or say hurtful things, I’m still very satisfied with my life.” 10. WHITE FLASH 11. (SOUNDBITE) (Turkish) EBRU ERDEM, KNOWN AS "AVATAR WOMAN," SAYING: “People used to make fun of me. When I was little, they called me ‘Avatar’.” 12. WHITE FLASH 13. (SOUNDBITE) (Turkish) EBRU ERDEM, KNOWN AS "AVATAR WOMAN," SAYING: “They called me ‘alien.’ A lot of people also assumed that I had a disability.” 14. WHITE FLASH 15. (SOUNDBITE) (Turkish) EBRU ERDEM, KNOWN AS "AVATAR WOMAN," SAYING: “For example, when they see someone with a different facial structure, they immediately assume that person is disabled. I think this is not only hurtful to the person they are targeting, but also disrespectful to people with disabilities.” 16. WHITE FLASH 17. (SOUNDBITE) (Turkish) EBRU ERDEM, KNOWN AS "AVATAR WOMAN," SAYING: “By the way, I don’t have any problems. I am completely healthy, both mentally and physically. I have no health issues at all, and I have undergone all the necessary medical tests.” 18. WHITE FLASH 19. (SOUNDBITE) (Turkish) EBRU ERDEM, KNOWN AS "AVATAR WOMAN," SAYING: “People say things like, ‘If you have money, go get your face fixed. Why do you look like this? If you don’t have the money, we’ll give it to you. Go get your face done.’ Honestly, I read these comments in complete shock. I mean, if anyone else were in my position, I don’t think they could put up with this much.” 20. WHITE FLASH 21. (SOUNDBITE) (Turkish) EBRU ERDEM, KNOWN AS "AVATAR WOMAN," SAYING: “I have loved my face since I was born. I was bullied a lot as a child, and I still get bullied, but I am very happy with my face. I have never even once thought about having cosmetic surgery on my face.” 22. WHITE FLASH 23. (SOUNDBITE) (Turkish) EBRU ERDEM, KNOWN AS "AVATAR WOMAN," SAYING: “I don’t want to go under the knife and live with a different face just because people don’t like the way I look or because they judge me.” 24. WHITE FLASH 25. (SOUNDBITE) (Turkish) EBRU ERDEM, KNOWN AS "AVATAR WOMAN," SAYING: “I wish the Avatar movie had a Turkish version. If a director came to me and offered me a role, I would immediately agree to be in it. I’m calling out to the director of Avatar: ‘Please cast me in an Avatar movie’.” 26. WHITE FLASH 27. (SOUNDBITE) (Turkish) EBRU ERDEM, KNOWN AS "AVATAR WOMAN," SAYING: “Bullying has become very common nowadays.” 28. WHITE FLASH 29. (SOUNDBITE) (Turkish) EBRU ERDEM, KNOWN AS "AVATAR WOMAN," SAYING: “When I was little, especially during kindergarten, I faced a lot of discrimination. People would stare at me strangely, as if I weren’t a human being but something else.” 30. WHITE FLASH 31. (SOUNDBITE) (Turkish) EBRU ERDEM, KNOWN AS "AVATAR WOMAN," SAYING: “The periods when I experienced the most bullying were my childhood, kindergarten and primary school years. In primary school, children would constantly tease me, saying things like, ‘The alien is here,’ or ‘There’s an alien in the classroom.’” 32. WHITE FLASH 33. (SOUNDBITE) (Turkish) EBRU ERDEM, KNOWN AS "AVATAR WOMAN," SAYING: “Another reason I started using social media was to highlight people’s different physical features and raise awareness. I don’t want people to feel sad because of their differences or become withdrawn. I want them to go out, show themselves as much as possible, and be confident about who they are.” ISTANBUL, TÜRKIYE - JULY 27: Ebru Erdem, a young Turkish woman who faced bullying and discrimination throughout her childhood due to her facial features being compared to characters from the Avatar films, has transformed her experiences into an awareness campaign challenging prejudice toward physical differences. Speaking to an Anadolu Agency correspondent, Erdem, 23, said the bullying was particularly intense during kindergarten and primary school, where she was labeled as an "alien," and "disabled" by her peers. "I am completely healthy, both mentally and physically. I have no health issues at all, and I have undergone all the necessary medical tests," Erdem