Actress Emilia Clarke Talks Daenerys Targaryen 'Game of Thrones' Season 6 Sexism Controversy
Emilia Clarke, best known for playing Khaleesi Daenerys Targaryen in HBO's epic fantasy show Game of Thrones, definitely has a strong opinion about the show's growing sexism controversy regarding violence against women. In a recent interview, the Emmy-nominated actress hits back at critics that call the show "anti-feminist," saying they're focusing on just one side of the equation.
Clarke recently spoke to Entertainment Weekly about the upcoming season of her hit HBO series. She addressed the growing controversy surrounding female characters, as there have been various instances of rape and other violent acts against women. Clarke urges everyone to look at the bigger picture, saying it depicts a variety of women in "so many different stages of development."
"There are women depicted as sexual tools, women who have zero rights, women who are queens but only to a man, and then there are women who are literally unstoppable and as powerful as you can possibly imagine. So it pains me to hear people taking Thrones out of context with anti-feminist spin -- because you can't do that about this show," Clarke told the outlet. "It shows the range that happens to women, and ultimately shows women are not only equal, but have a lot of strength."
Of course, the actress happens to play one of the strongest women in the bunch: the Mother of Dragons, Breaker of Chains, Khaleesi of the Great Grass Sea, etcetera. In fact, with such a broad cast, Game of Thrones actually boasts plenty of strong female characters, including Arya Stark (Maisie Williams), Cersei Lannister (Lena Headey) and Brienne de Tarth (Gwendoline Christie).
Other characters in the show, notoriously Sansa Stark (Sophie Turner), haven't been so lucky, being victimized mentally and sexually. Last year, the character was married off and raped by one of the most vicious characters in the show, sparking a world of controversy as it was deemed gratuitous: in the George R. R. Martin books the series is based on, Sansa's out of danger.
Game of Thrones will return to HBO on April 24.