Acun Ilıcalı recounted years later: We carried Nisa like a corpse

29.10.2026 20:45

Acun Ilıcalı, on the broadcast he appeared on, talked about the difficult moments Nisa Bölükbaşı and Cemal Can Canseven experienced during Survivor. Ilıcalı, saying that Nisa withdrew into herself for a period and wanted to quit the competition, stated that Cemal Can also begged to go home crying for three days during the pandemic.

Acun Ilıcalı spoke about the difficult memories from Survivor on the program he appeared on. Recounting that Nisa Bölükbaşı withdrew into herself during the competition and her nervous system locked up, Ilıcalı said that Cemal Can Canseven also wanted to quit the competition during the pandemic.

Recounting what happened on Survivor, Ilıcalı stated that Nisa Bölükbaşı’s mood during the competition had changed seriously at one point. Ilıcalı said, “Nisa didn’t cry at all the following year. She cut off contact with us, cut off contact with the world. One day she just froze. We carried her like a corpse, her nervous system locked up, she said, ‘I’m quitting.’ We gave her phone privileges, [saying] ‘Go talk to your father.’ Her father convinced her, otherwise I had put my foot down.”

“SHE CRIED FOR THREE DAYS”

Ilıcalı recounted that Cemal Can Canseven also struggled during the competition and begged him to leave. Noting that they were stranded in the Dominican Republic during the pandemic, Ilıcalı said that Canseven cried for three days.

“Cemal Can sobbed in front of me for three days, saying, ‘Let me go, I’m begging you, I want to leave.’ Then he became the champion. He said, ‘I’m done, I want to go,’” Ilıcalı said, noting that it was not possible for the contestant to return home.

THEY WERE STRANDED IN THE DOMINICAN REPUBLIC DURING THE PANDEMIC

Reminding that entry and exit between countries had stopped due to the pandemic, Ilıcalı said he convinced Cemal Can to continue the competition. Ilıcalı said, “At that moment the world had ended. You can’t go home—you don’t have a home. There’s no entry or exit to Turkey or the Dominican Republic. I convinced him by saying, ‘Son, you can’t go, we’re trapped here.’”