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ANY GAME OF Thrones fan knows that Sansa Stark has one of the most harrowing storylines in the entire franchise. Her rape in season 5 by Ramsay Bolton was a scene which drew a lot of controversy at the time with some fans calling for a boycott of the show.

At the time actress Sophie Turner strongly defended airing the scene saying;

This sort of thing used to happen and it continues to happen now, and if we treat it as such a taboo and precious subject, then how are people going to have the strength to come out and feel comfortable saying that this has happened to them?

This was back before the #MeToo movement and reading her words it seems like she almost knew about the movement before the rest us.

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Recently Sophie has been speaking to Screen Daily about the #MeToo movement and how she feels that there’s parallels between Sansa’s story-line and the movement saying it’s ‘mirroring what’s happening in real life, in every industry right now’.

It’s really interesting how all of these women who were subjected to a lot of horror and oppression are taking a stand against the people who have done this to them. I think that’s why I connected with the #MeToo movement so much. Not just because of being a woman and obviously being a feminist, but also that character.

Given that Game of Thrones is the most popular TV series in the world currently, addressing difficult topics is something it should be doing even if the show is set in a completely different time.

That being said, the show hasn’t always managed to do this well with the sexual encounter between Cersei and Jaime in 2014  being depicted as sexual assault when in the books the entire encounter was consensual much to the disappointment and disgust of a lot of fans.

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According to Turner Game of Thrones has two roles to play.

Our role as filmmakers is to hold a mirror up to society. At the same time, I think it’s very important to have that escapism. That’s why Game Of Thrones is such a wonderful show. It provides both of those things.

On a lighter note, she did unfortunately rule out a Sansa Stark spinoff which will disappoint many fans who have enjoyed Sansa’s character development a lot.

This character has given me so much and I’ve given so much of myself to her. I love it dearly but it’s time to move on.

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