“Because they are artists, apparently they cannot speak. They will speak. Because they are businesspeople, apparently they cannot speak. They will speak. It is now time to speak up,” Ekrem Imamoglu said May 6, shortly after his mayoral mandate was annulled.

Addressing crowds gathered in Istanbul’s Beylikduzu district, where he was the local mayor for five years, Imamoglu’s powerful response to the Supreme Election Council (YSK) went out not only to Istanbul but to the entire country, prompting long-silent public figures to speak out — and this time without whispering.

To the surprise of many, prominent comedian Sahan Gokbakar posted a video of himself mocking Ali Ihsan Yavuz, the election council member representing the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP), to mixed reactions. Dozens of other household names who had kept mute for years used Imamoglu’s slogan, “Everything Will Be Fine,” on social media — supporting the candidate who got 13,729 more votes than his opponent on March 31 and helping the topic trend worldwide.

Many were effectively blacklisted by the AKP government and a presidential aide tweeted the names of artists who supported Imamoglu, saying they had been “recorded.” He later removed it.