Victoria’s Secret star’s ‘salute’ to Turkish terror group goes viral

Victoria’s Secret lingerie model Adriana Lima has come under fire after being seen as supporting a Turkish terrorist group in a video.

Mobile phone footage recorded in a gym showed the Brazilian beauty making a ‘salute’ affiliated with the Grey Wolves, the Daily Mail reported.

The group is responsible for killing hundreds of people in Turkey over decades, and had plotted to assassinate Pope John Paul II.

The 34-year-old underwear model seemed to be making the hand gesture while saying the group’s name Bozkurtlar, Turkish for wolves.

Although Lima has denied her support for the group, the incident has angered Turkey’s Kurdish community, which has been subjected to attacks by the group.

“It’s sad and depressing that such a famous person is giving credit to such a racist, fascist ideology,” Kurdish-rights campaigner Mark Campbell told the British newspaper.

“The Grey Wolves is a fascist organization. They are extreme Turkish nationalists who partake in street violence, mainly against Kurdish people in Turkey. It is a very unsavory group.

“The salute is extremely offensive. It’s an incredibly scary thing - it’s a symbol of trying to show their dominance over the Kurds.”
Lima’s spokesman said she “had been duped into giving the terror salute,” the Daily Mail reported.

The model reportedly met a Turkish boxer in Miami who told her the hand salute and howl was a symbol of his gym.

“She was unaware of the wider context of what she was doing or its association to a political group,” the spokesman said.

“Adriana has no affiliation to any political party in Turkey and unequivocally denies any implied association to these organizations.

“She is personally disappointed that her good will was taken advantage of to create a video, released without her knowledge or consent, that upsets any community.”