Sophie Turner defends ‘Game of Thrones’ rape scene…
Sophie Turner is giving her perspective on the brutal rape scene that her character endured in Season 5 of “Game of Thrones.”
The actress, 29, who famously starred as Sansa Stark on the HBO sequence, mirrored on the “triggering” plotline in an interview with Flaunt magazine.
When her character was nearly raped in the Season 2 episode titled “The Old Gods and the New,” the star, who was 14 when filming began, admitted she “didn’t fully understand it” at the time.
Sophie Turner as Sansa Stark in a scene from “Game of Thrones.” AP
“I was trying to figure it out in my young little head,” she explained.
Fast-forward to the Season 5 episode “Unbowed, Unbent, Unbroken,” when Stark is inappropriately assaulted at the palms of her new husband Ramsay Bolton (performed by Iwan Rheon).
By the time the episode aired, Turner was 19 and “had more of a grasp of what was happening.”
The actress confessed that she understood why the scene sparked outrage; however, she believes many missed the larger that means.
“I did feel — and still do — that Game of Thrones shone a light on things that many people were like, ‘Oh god, you can’t show that kind of thing’ — and I understand it can be triggering — I totally understand that point of view,” Turner said.
Sansa Stark seems emotional in “Game of Thrones.” HBO
Sophie Turner’s character Sansa Stark is seen bloody and bruised in a “Game of Thrones” episode. HBO
“But I did feel we were actually doing a lot of justice to women and the fight women have had to fight for hundreds of thousands of years — the patriarchy, being treated as objects, and being constantly inappropriately assaulted — I don’t think there’s one woman I know who hasn’t had a form of that,” she continued.
Noting that those controversial scenes could have been dealt with in a different way today, Turner said she has no regrets.
“I think if Game of Thrones came out today, we’d definitely put some trigger warnings on there,” the star added. “But I’m really proud to have been a part of Game of Thrones where they didn’t shy away from showing atrocities that happened to women back then. I feel proud to have been part of the conversation.”
Sophie Turner, winner of the Performance award, poses at the 2024 Harper’s Bazaar Women of the Year Awards, on November 5, 2024 in London, England. Dave Benett/Getty Images for Harper’s Bazaar UK
When the episode aired in 2015, a number of people criticized how it was depicted onscreen.
One author for The Atlantic wrote that the showrunners “still apparently believe that their tendency to ramp up the sex, violence, and — especially — inappropriate violence of George R.R. Martin’s source material is a strength rather than the defining weakness of their adaptation.”
A critic for The Guardian warned that the “Game of Thrones” writers have been “walking a very fine line” with Stark’s rape scene.
Sophie Turner in “Game of Thrones” Season 4.
Sophie Turner as Sansa Stark and Aidan Gillen as Littlefinger in the HBO sequence.
“They handled it well tonight, telling a gothic tale of innocence sacrificed … and hinted perfectly at horrors to come, but they must be careful not to tip from there to gratuitous violence for its own sake,” they said.
However, The Post’s Sara Stewart said those outraged “missed the point” utterly.
“Why are we suddenly so outraged about the rape of Sansa Stark, when this show has served up a steady diet of inappropriate assault and violence against women since its first season began?” she questioned.
Sophie Turner at Paris Fashion Week on March 10, 2025. Getty Images
Rheon, meanwhile, called the rape scene the “worst day of my career.”
“That was horrible. Nobody wanted to be there. Nobody wants to do that, but if it’s telling a story then you have to tell it truthfully,” he told Metro in 2020, noting it was “very, very hard watching” the scene later on.
Turner just lately joked that she received her intercourse schooling from “Game of Thrones,” which ran on HBO for 8 seasons, from 2011 to 2019.
The medieval drama also starred Kit Harington, Lena Headey, Emilia Clarke and Peter Dinklage.
Sophie Turner as Sansa Stark in Season 6 of “Game of Thrones.”
While Turner shouldn’t be in the “Game of Thrones” prequel “House of the Dragon,” she has addressed whether or not her character would ever make a comeback.
“It would have to be the exact same cast and the exact same crew,” she told Variety in September. “Otherwise, I wouldn’t go back, and that would just be season nine. I don’t think we’re going to do a season nine.”
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