Game of Thrones which was adapted from a series of fantasy novels by George R.R Martin titled A Song of Ice and Fire, took the world by storm by becoming one of the most popular television shows of all time. The series ended its 8th season with a staggering 10 million viewers tuning in to HBO.
The show also made actors like Emilia Clarke and Jason Momoa recognizable faces in Hollywood. While the cast expectedly shared many memorable experiences over 8 seasons, many moments off the camera brought up some intense debates. Momoa, in particular, received flak for a controversial comment regarding a much-talked-about scene with Clarke, which he apologized for later.
Game Of Thrones Star’s Reaction To a Scene Earned Him Backlash
Before becoming a DC superhero, Jason Momoa’s claim to fame was the hugely popular HBO series Game Of Thrones. The Aquaman actor played the ruthless and tyrannical character of Khal Drogo in the adaptation of George R.R Martin’s novel and received high praise for his commanding performance in the series.
Game Of Thrones also created many talking points around the graphic nature of its content which showcased a disturbing amount of physical and s*xual violence. One of these included the brutal wedding night scene where Momoa’s Khal Drogo r*pes Emilia Clarke’s Daenerys Targaryen.
While this sequence laid the foundation for the future complex dynamic between the two characters, the fact remained that it was a deeply disturbing watch for viewers. Therefore, the DC star’s comments on this scene and the graphic violence depicted between the two protagonists seemed rather insensitive and shocking. In an appearance at a Comic-Con panel in 2011 (via The Guardian), Momoa stated,
I love [sci-fi and fantasy] because there are so many things you can do, like rip someone’s tongue out of their throat and get away with it and r*pe beautiful women.
While the statement may have elicited laughter from the crowd at that moment, the tone-deaf comment came back to bite Momoa years later. The celebrity then wisely went into damage control and rendered an apology in an Instagram post.
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While the Dune star took accountability for his words, the fact remains that his comments could have had much more serious repercussions in today’s world of cancel culture. With a lot more sensitivity regarding issues of this nature, audiences are aware, more than ever, that celebrities must be doubly responsible for their actions and statements.
A Decade Later, Jason Momoa Treaded Sensitive Ground Much More Carefully
Jason Momoa’s opinions on the graphic violence depicted between him and Emilia Clarke’s character, saw him facing a lot of criticism before the actor apologized publicly. Like anyone who receives backlash, the Aquaman actor too, quickly realized his folly with words, which reflected in his comments about the same scene in 2021.
In an interview with the New York Times, Momoa was asked about depictions of s*x, violence, and r*pe in Game of Thrones and his personal views on filming scenes of this nature. Responding to journalist David Marchese’s questions about the impact and relevance of these visuals today, the actor expressed his discomfort and said,
It was important to depict Drogo and his style. You’re playing someone that’s like Genghis Khan. It was a really, really, really hard thing to do. But my job was to play something like that, and it’s not a nice thing.
Momoa went on to add that as an actor, he did not have the choice to make decisions about the kind of scenes that a film or a series warranted. The star confessed that though he had no regrets about filming the sequence, he will never do it again under any other context.
All seasons of Game Of Thrones can be rented on Apple TV.
