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Shaan Shahid has been very vocal about PTV airing Dirilis Ertugrul and so it's not a secret he hasn't been too happy about it.

“I have never said anything against foreign content being aired on a privately aired channel,” he had shared with Images previously.

“Some years ago, Turkish soaps Ishq-e-Mamnoon and Mera Sultan were such huge hits but they were being shown on private channels. But when a state-owned channel for which I pay taxes extends its support to foreign content – and furthermore, my government especially endorses it – I begin to lose hope.”

After that, a debate sparked in the entertainment industry about what this means for local content. One thing was clear; no one had an issue with Ertugrul, but with PTV, a state-owned channel, airing foreign content while producing none of its own.

And it looks like Shaan is holding on to that thought, as he revealed that he has indeed watched the Turkish drama and quite liked it.

He also thought to share that he saw the show on Netflix, because it's available there, throwing yet another jab at PTV in a now deleted tweet. Perhaps he was reminded of his privilege of being able to use Netflix.

Of course that meant social media couldn't resist calling him out on being a 'hater' of the show but Shaan made sure to clarify that his issue was never with Ertugrul.

"My tweet was against the state channel for not producing any content in the past 25 years and taking billions from us, but never against the play."

"But In this past few weeks I learned about all of us after what I saw on social media, we all tested positive for hatred. We are ready to hate each other for no reason...We are filled with rage, and in that rage, we construct a different meaning. A meaning that gives us a right to exercise our rage on the other...a justification to ones justified hatred. And that is truly sad as it defies all the teachings of faith and humanity. The unity that we need to build our own narrative with is no where"

"Any private channel can play foreign content as they have in the past and I never opposed it as it is privately owned. But a state channel has more responsibilities towards its people to promote Pakistani ideology, heroes and productions. The state channels have a role to play."

Shaan was the first of many to raise his voice on the matter. Actors such as Yasir Hussain have echoed his sentiments about the show being aired on PTV and many speaking up about what value Turkish dramas bring.