retire from performing live on stage: "Each ending is a new beginning. I will continue to produce [music], but I'm going to say goodbye to the stage after doing a few concerts I promised before. This is my last concert in Istanbul. I'm grateful for having you here with me today in memory of 40 years of my career." In September, she stated again that she would continue making music. In January 2022, Aksu was criticized by conservaties and religious figures for calling Adam and Eve ignorant in the song "Ne Şahane Bir Şey Yaşamak" (a cover of the 2012 song "C'est la vie"). The song was originally included in the 2017 tribute album Alakasız Şarkılar, Vol. 1 in memory of Yaşar Gaga, but resurfaced on the social media in early 2022 after its lyric video was published on Aksu's official YouTube channel on 30 December 2021. President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, leader of the Nationalist Movement Party Devlet Bahçeli, and the Directorate of Religious Affairs, were among the political figures and government agencies that criticized Aksu and the song. After remaining silent for a month, Aksu eventually released a statement on her Facebook account on January 22. "As you know, the matter is not me; the matter is the country," she remarked, thanking everyone who have shown their support for her. Aksu also revealed the lyrics to a new song she written the day before. "You won't be able to crush my tongue. Activism Aksu is known for her sensitivity to social problems and events. In 2009 she supported Recep Tayyip Erdoğan's democratic initiative and the settlement process in Turkey. As a result journalist Hikmet Çetinkaya claimed that Aksu's father was a supporter of the Nur movement. While some artists stood behind Aksu, some expressed that Aksu's behavior was unreasonable. In 2012, Aksu wrote the song "Tanrının Gözyaşları" (Tears of God) in memory of soldiers who had died during the Kurdish–Turkish conflict. About the young people who participated in the first days of the Gezi Park protests in 2013 she said: "This is the first youth revolution in the world. They have sent an extraordinary message and the people there and those who are coming to the streets are speaking their words with an extraordinary language." In 2014, she again paid tribute to the young people who took part in the protests with her new single "Yeni ve Yeni Kalanlar".