Maisie Williams finally responds to her controversial sex scene in 'Game of Thrones'
For some, seeing Maisie Williams’ Arya Stark losing her virginity in the latest Game of Thrones episode was a bit too much to take.
But while a debate raged online over how appropriate the – extremely respectfully shot – scene was, considering we’ve followed her story in the show since she was 12, spare a thought for Maisie.
Read more: Who’s still left on Arya’s kill list?
Famously irreverent, she tweeted:
if u feel uncomfortable just know that my mother and my step dad and my 2 sisters and my 4 brothers have all probably watched this too ahahakillmeehehe
— Maisie Williams (@Maisie_Williams) April 23, 2019
We’d probably want to shrivel up and die too.
Indeed, Williams herself has said that when she first read the script in which she gets together with blacksmith and bastard son of Robert Baratheon, Gendry, she thought it was all a joke.
“At first, I thought it was a prank,” she told Entertainment Weekly.
“I was like, ‘Yo, good one.’ And [they were] like, ‘No, we haven’t done that this year.’ [Showrunners] David [Benioff] and Dan [Weiss] were like: ‘You can show as much or as little as you want.’
“So I kept myself pretty private. I don’t think it’s important for Arya to flash. This beat isn’t really about that.
Read more: Arya and Gendry got it together in GoT and people were into it
“This is something she’s stayed away from, an emotion we’ve never really seen her engage with. David and Dan were like, ‘It’s the end of the world, what else would you have her do?’
“This may be is a moment where Arya accepts death tomorrow, which she never does. It’s interesting to see Arya be a bit more human, speak more normally about things people are scared of.”
Some fans found the scene to push the boundaries of acceptability.
That scene with Arya and Gendry was so inappropriate tbh
— Salmah (@foreversalmah) April 22, 2019
shipping matter aside, i felt really uncomfortable with that arya/gendry sex scene. for the majority of this show this cast and crew has filmed and worked with maisie as a child. really don't know why it was necessary for her to take her clothes off as soon as she becomes of age
— kinsey (@sansascstark) April 22, 2019
So did anyone else feel uncomfortable af watching that Arya scene? #GameOfThrones
— 🧩 James 🧩 (@autch14) April 22, 2019
Ah well, he didn't like his father very much. So…. The only scene unnecessary was Arya and Gendry. So inappropriate 😥😑
— Gunjan (@Gunjanwitty) April 22, 2019
"How old is Maisie Williams" searches pic.twitter.com/4TWsa8dgsJ
— Brendan Clancy (@BrendanClancy) April 22, 2019
But many pointed out some serious double standards:
Y'all are mad about Maisie Williams, a 22 years old actress, doing a sex scene when her character, Arya, is now 18 years old. A consenting adult.
Where's this rage when Daenerys got bought and raped at 14 by Drogo? Because the actress is older you gave it a pass? Gtfo out.
— 🌺 Emily 🌺 (@OhMyEmz) April 22, 2019
I find the reactions panicking about Maisie Williams's age interesting, considering that Sophie Turner is the same age and had to film a graphic rape scene and nobody was all that concerned about her being too young for THAT content, but whatever.
— 🏳️🌈Jenny Trout🔮 (@Jenny_Trout) April 22, 2019
Veteran Game of Thrones correspondent for Vanity Fair Joanna Robinson probably put it best, however, on the A Cast of Kings podcast.
“She’s a teenager, she’s supposed to be 18-ish in the show, the actress is 22. Yeah, you saw her as a kid, but Emilia Clarke was a kid once too, so I don’t know what to tell you,” she said.
“Teen girls have sex. The End.”
The final season of Game of Thrones continues on Monday on Sky Atlantic.