The bullet in my brain: Singer Mutlu Kaya was shot in the head, but survived. Now, she has found a new voice on TikTok
“Iron Woman” is the name given to Mutlu Kaya by her almost two million TikTok followers, due to the bullet in her brain. She is a social media star, a heroic figure to her followers. But this isn’t how she wanted to find fame.
In May 2015, aged 20, Mutlu was a finalist on the Turkish equivalent of Britain’s Got Talent. As a little girl, she used to sing into her hairbrush in front of the mirror, pretending to be a popstar, and now it looked as if her dream might come true. “I was so excited I could hear my heart,” she recalls.
But, days after appearing on the TV show, the future she had imagined was brutally snatched from her when a jilted suitor tried to kill her. Mutlu was shot in the head and spent just under two months in intensive care, her family camping in the hospital car park outside to stay near her.
Her story made headlines around the world. Eight years on, she is unable to use her hands and uses a wheelchair, and the little walking she can manage is slow and stilted. The bullet remains lodged inside her brain, a permanent reminder of her ordeal, too risky to remove.
In a cruel twist of fate, her older sister, Dilek was murdered three years ago by a man claiming to be her boyfriend. According to the Turkish campaign group We Will Stop Femicide, some 334 women lost their lives as a result of gender violence in 2022, and 245 died suspiciously.
Dilek was shot and killed the day after her 35th birthday, in March 2020. “It hit me harder than the bullet,” Mutlu says.
Mutlu (left) pictured with her older sister Dilek
Today, she still wants her voice to be heard but she is no longer singing traditional Turkish folk. Instead, she has recorded a protest track, Resurrection, a Turkish trap song in which she sings of her hope that “the cruel ones will pay the price one day”. On TikTok, she is fighting for change; for harsher penalties and for violence against women in Turkey to be taken more seriously.
Mutlu is one of eight siblings, six girls and two boys, and her family comes from the small Ergani district of Diyarbakir, a conservative, Kurdish-majority city in southeastern Turkey. She speaks no English, so we communicate through a translator on a video call. Dressed in a brown spotted blouse, she looks more formal than in the TikToks in which she is often beautifully made-up, wearing bright colours. Her long, dark hair, which reaches to the backs of her knees, is pulled loosely behind her.
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She first met Veysi Ercan, “the man who messed up all my life”, when she was 14 and he was in his 20s. She thought he was a gentleman at first, but over time her opinion changed. When he asked her to marry him, she said no, sending him “crazy”.
When she filmed the TV show in Istanbul, some 1,400km (869 miles) from her home, he also made the journey. “He came to the studios and said, ‘if you let her join the show, I will kill you all’. He was always calling and threatening me. ‘You are mine or you will be dead’. After I took part in the contest, he became more jealous. I think he felt like if she is successful on TV, [he] won’t be able to control her.”
With just a few days until the final, Mutlu had been rehearsing when Ercan turned up to find her at Dilek’s home, after bombarding her with messages. Outside, he pulled out a gun and shot her through a glass door. The next thing she remembers is waking up in hospital. “I opened my eyes and I was in bed, totally immobile. I had to use nappies, which was very hard.”
In 2016, Ercan was convicted over the shooting and sentenced to 15 years in jail. There have been reports of his release under surveillance, but it is unclear exactly when that may be. With time served before his sentencing – which counts for double – it could be in the next few years.
Mutlu says this is one of the hardest things to deal with. “This man took my hands and feet from me. He should have got a life sentence. The penalties are not strong enough. I want to keep the topic of violence against women on the agenda. I always get positive feedback, especially from women. They tell me, ‘Mutlu, you are our hope’.”
Mutlu (centre), relies on the support of one of her other sisters, Songul, and mother Hanim
According to the World Health Organisation, almost a third (32%) of women and girls in Turkey aged between 15 and 49 have experienced physical and/or sexual violence from a partner in their lifetime, based on data collated between 2000 and 2018. This is the highest percentage in Europe and West Asia, for countries where data is available. By contrast, the average for Europe is 23%.
Incidents of femicide and violence against women are said to have risen in recent years. In 2021, there were protests after President Recep Tayyip Erdogan pulled out of the Istanbul Convention, an international accord designed to protect women from domestic violence.
Hundreds of women protested against the decision to pull out of the Istanbul Convention in 2021
Mutlu is sharing her story in a new documentary, My Name Is Happy, so-called because “mutlu” means “happy” in English. In one extraordinary scene, she sits and watches as a doctor shows her a scan of the bullet inside her. She has made peace with it. It sounds strange, she says, but sometimes she talks to the foreign object inside her head. “Often I have strong headaches. I ask her not to make me feel so bad and cause so much pain.”
Since the shooting, the support Mutlu has found on social media has sustained her in her darkest moments. She shares everything from updates on her treatment to touching family moments and singing clips. In the documentary, we see footage of her speaking to other women sharing their stories of violence and femicide.
In 2022, her sister’s killer received a life sentence, which he is appealing, according to the programme. Despite her disabilities, Mutlu made sure she was at the court for the hearing.
She still loves singing but it is campaigning that helps her cope. “In Turkey, many people play the three monkeys: deaf, blind and mute,” she says. “I want other countries and communities to hear what happened. I want everyone in England to hear my voice – and I ask them to add theirs.”
Her name may mean “happy”, but for her it now has a different meaning, as she says in the documentary. “When I say Mutlu now, it means to be mature, to be a woman who has suffered a lot.”
Singer Chris Brown has pleaded not guilty to attempting to cause grievous bodily harm over an alleged bottle attack at a London nightclub two years ago.
The US R&B star was arrested at a hotel in Manchester by Metropolitan Police detectives last month, after the singer flew to the city by private jet in preparation for his world tour.
The 36-year-old said he had gone “from the cage to the stage” after he was released on bail in time for the tour.
Chris Brown arrives at Southwark Crown Court. Pic: PA
The musician had been remanded in custody following an initial hearing at Manchester Magistrates’ Court but was freed ahead of his court appearance after paying a £5m security fee to the court.
Brown is accused of attempting to unlawfully and maliciously cause grievous bodily harm with intent to Abraham Diaw at a London nightclub called Tape in Hanover Square, Mayfair, on 19 February 2023.
He confirmed his name and date of birth at Southwark Crown Court on Friday before entering his plea, saying: “Not guilty ma’am.”
His co-defendant, US national Omololu Akinlolu, 39, who performs under the name Hoody Baby, pleaded not guilty to the same charge.
Both defendants are further charged with assaulting Mr Diaw occasioning him actual bodily harm, with Brown also facing one count of having an offensive weapon – a bottle – in a public place. They were not asked to enter pleas to those charges, with a further court hearing set for 11 July.
Last month, Manchester Magistrates Court heard Mr Diaw was standing at the bar of the nightclub when he was struck several times with a bottle, before being pursued to a separate area of the venue, where he was punched and kicked repeatedly.
Around 20 people sat in the public gallery behind the dock for the hearing, many of them fans of Brown.
The singer arrived at around 9am to a large group of photographers outside court and walked to the building’s entrance in silence.
A trial date has been set for 26 October 2026.
Entertainment
Judi Dench, Malala and Stanley Tucci join call for Starmer to ‘end UK complicity’ in Gaza
Dame Judi Dench, Malala and Stanley Tucci are among another 100 famous names who have added their signatures to a letter urging Sir Keir Starmer to “end the UK’s complicity” in Gaza.
Sky News can exclusively reveal the Bond actress, Nobel Peace Prize winner and Conclave actor are among a host of public figures who have added their names to the letter.
At the end of May, Sky News revealed about 300 actors, bands, singers, activists and sportspeople signed the letter, organised by refugee charity Choose Love, calling on Sir Keir to suspend all UK arms sales and licences to Israel.
Dua Lipa, Benedict Cumberbatch and Gary Lineker were among the celebrities to also urge the PM to use all available means to ensure full humanitarian access and broker an immediate and permanent ceasefire.
Celebrities and activists also read out all the names of children killed in Gaza in front of parliament.
But three weeks later, they say nothing has changed.
Dua Lipa, Gary Lineker and Benedict Cumberbatch signed the letter in May. Pics: PA
Other new signatories include actors Florence Pugh and Russell Tovey, Dr Who star Ncuti Gatwa, singer Paolo Nutini, author Michael Rosen, musician Paul Weller, Little Mix members Leigh-Anne Pinnock and Jade Thirlwall, broadcaster Fearne Cotton, Game of Thrones actress Carice van Houten, Harry Potter actress Bonnie Wright and ex-England rugby captain Chris Robshaw.
The letter urges Sir Keir to “take immediate action to end the UK’s complicity in the horrors of Gaza”, and says children are starving “while food and medicine sit just minutes away”, in reference to Israel blocking aid into the territory.
It says 71,000 children under four are “acutely malnourished” and those who survive starvation “wake up to bombs falling on them”, with more than 15,000 children killed in the conflict so far.
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Ncuti Gatwa, who plays Dr Who, has signed the letter. Pic: Reuters
Actress Florence Pugh has also signed the letter. Pic: Reuters
Actor Russell Tovey is a signatory too. Pic: Reuters
“Violence stamped with UK inaction – flown with parts shipped from British factories to Israel – could be obliterating families in seconds,” the letter adds.
“You can’t call it ‘intolerable’, yet do nothing.
“Every moment this continues, is another moment children die on our watch.
“History is written in moments of moral clarity. This is one. The world is watching and history will not forget. The children of Gaza cannot wait another minute.
“Prime minister, what will you choose? Complicity in war crimes, or the courage to act?”
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Steve Coogan: It has to stop
What has Starmer said and done about Gaza?
In September, the UK suspended about 30 arms export licences to Israel, but government export licensing figures from May show the UK approved licences for £127.6m worth of military equipment from October to December 2024 – more than the total between 2020 and 2023.
Since the first letter was sent, Sir Keir has called Israel’s actions in Gaza – both the blockade of aid and strikes – “appalling and intolerable”.
Some of his own MPs are pressuring him to take further action against Israel and call the 20-month war – which started when Hamas killed 1,195 people in Israel and took 250 hostage – a genocide, but he has not used those words.
On 10 June, the UK, Australia, Canada, New Zealand and Norway sanctioned far-right Israeli ministers Itamar Ben-Gvir and Bezalel Smotrich over “repeated incitements of violence against Palestinian civilians”.
They are banned from entering the UK and are now subject to a freeze on UK assets and director disqualifications.
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Gaza crisis ‘acute’ and continuing
Last week, Sir Keir said more RAF jets, including Typhoons and air-to-air refuelers, were being sent to the Middle East after Israel and Iran attacked each other.
On Tuesday, Sir Keir told Sky News’ political editor Beth Rigby he is “worried about the impact” escalation between the two countries will have on Gaza.
Josie Naughton, co-founder and CEO of Choose Love, said: “Since we urged the government to end its complicity in the horrors of Gaza, more people have added their voice to our call. We cannot be silent while children are being killed and families are being starved.
“It took us 18 hours to read the 15,613 names of children known to be killed in Gaza. Every single one of them was someone’s whole universe. Every one of them deserved better.
“The situation is changing by the second, but until the UK government has halted all arms sales and licences to Israel, ensured that humanitarian aid can reach people starving inside Gaza and stopped the killing, they will not have done enough.
“History will remember how we acted in this moment. We beg Keir Starmer to end the UK’s complicity in these horrors.”
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A government spokesperson said: “We strongly oppose the expansion of military operations in Gaza and call on the Israeli government to cease its offensive and immediately allow for unfettered access to humanitarian aid.
“The denial of essential humanitarian assistance to the civilian population in Gaza is unacceptable and risks breaching international humanitarian law.”
The spokesperson added: “Last year, we suspended export licences to Israel for items used in military operations in Gaza and continue to refuse licences for military goods that could be used by Israel in the current conflict.
“We urge all parties to urgently agree a ceasefire agreement and work towards a permanent and sustainable peace.”
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