Hours after riot police fired teargas at Istanbul’s Trans Pride march, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan sat down for Ramadan dinner with Turkey’s most famous transgender star.

A picture released by his office shows Erdogan and his wife smiling awkwardly as they share a traditional iftar meal to break the fast with transgender actress and singer Bülent Ersoy at the president’s official Istanbul residence, where he was hosting Turkish artists.

Ersoy, known as the “Diva”, underwent gender reassignment surgery in London in 1981. She became one of Turkey’s best known celebrities but — like many Turkish LGBT people — has faced discrimination, attacks and threats.

Although intolerance against LGBTs remains deeply entrenched in Turkey, the country hosts the largest Pride march in the Muslim world, drawing as many as 100,000 participants.