A leading Turkish actress said she has been subjected to a welter of insults on social media since she acting as a translator for Pope Francis during his visit to Turkey in November, AFP reported.
Serra Yilmaz said she was “accused of being a Christian” by Islamist trolls, who were angry at the renowned actress agreeing to interpret for Francis.
“I was accused of being a Christian just because I acted as the translator of Pope Francis,” Yilmaz told university students in the western port city of Izmir, Milliyet newspaper reported Thursday.
“It is ridiculous to judge people by their beliefs.
“But many people made groundless claims like ‘the Vatican hired you,’ or insulted me on social media,” she said.
The 60-year-old stage and screen star, who is fluent in Italian, said she had been hired by Turkish foreign ministry to work as a translator during the pope’s three-day visit to Ankara and Istanbul in late November.