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When The New York Times asked him about that violent Game of Thrones scene, he said it left “a bad feeling in my stomach.” The actor, who once played the fearsome Khal Drogo, got visibly uncomfortable when pressed about the show’s use of sexual violence. “I was bummed when you asked me that,” he told interviewer David Marchese. “It just feels icky—putting it upon me to remove something.”
The moment came during a sit-down interview marking the 10-year anniversary of Game of Thrones. Marchese raised a fair question, considering the show’s long history of criticism for its treatment of women. He asked, “Do you think differently today about those scenes? Would you do one now? Do you have any regrets?”
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Momoa gave a measured response at first. “Well, 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, and it’s what that character was.” Then he hit the brakes. “I already did it. Not doing it again.”
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It wasn’t the question itself, but what it represented. For Jason Momoa, the idea that actors should bear the weight of creative decisions made by directors, writers, and producers didn’t sit right.
The scene in question involved Khal Drogo forcing himself on Daenerys Targaryen in the show’s pilot. While the book portrayed it as consensual, the show did not. Viewers watched as Daenerys cried, powerless, while Drogo undressed her. It wasn’t graphic, but it was brutal.
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Even George R.R. Martin wasn’t thrilled. He later said the scene “made it worse, not better.” Emilia Clarke, who played Daenerys, revealed Momoa was “crying more than I was” during filming. She praised him for being “kind and considerate” on set.
Still, Momoa had reason to feel cornered. Back then, he wasn’t the global star he is now. He admitted he was “completely in debt” after the series ended and found it tough to get work. That kind of pressure didn’t leave much room to push back.
The irony? Momoa once joked about that very thing, badly. At Comic-Con in 2011, he said he liked sci-fi/fantasy because “you can r*pe beautiful women.” He apologized the next day on Instagram, calling it “a truly tasteless comment.”
Marchese’s question wasn’t a trap. It was a thoughtful opening for reflection. And to be fair, Momoa took it, before shutting it down completely. That scene may have haunted fans and critics alike, but for Momoa, he closed the book on it with one final line: “Not doing it again.”
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