Sophie Turner wasn’t surprised by criticism around rape scene

London, July 7 (IANS) Actress Sophie Turner says she wasnt "overly surprised" by the criticism around a scene in which her "Game of Thrones" character Sansa Stark was sexually assaulted. She says people need to stop making it "such a taboo and make it a discussion".

The scene was a part of season five, wherein her husband Ramsay Bolton raped her on her wedding night.

"I wasn't overly surprised. Of course, it's a sensitive subject. And there is still such a taboo surrounding subjects like that and you don't really see it portrayed onscreen that much," time.com quoted Turner as saying.

She added: "But one of the things it stirred in me was surprise that so much of people's time and energy was being spent discussing a fictional scene on television when you hear about people in third world countries -- and not just third world countries, all over the world -- getting raped every day, and sexually assaulted every day."

The actress added: "This was the trending topic on Twitter, and it makes you wonder, when it happens in real life, why isn't it a trending topic every time? This was a fictional character, and I got to walk away from it unscathed. Also, why should it be taboo to portray onscreen? If it gets that discussion going, then I think it's really important.

"It has to be brought into the mainstream because it is. Whether people want to hide it in the closet or not, it happens all the time, everywhere. It is mainstream. So it would almost be an injustice for us to ignore.

"Things like that did and continue to happen. And I feel so passionately about it that when something like that happens onscreen and there is a discussion and there is an uproar, great! Let's take that discussion and that dialogue and use it to help people who are going through that in their everyday lives. Stop making it such a taboo, and make it a discussion."

She also teased that her character might die in the forthcoming seasons. The seventh season will debut on July 16 in the US. It will premiere in India on Star World and Star World HD on July 18.

"I still haven't seen a script - and you never know, I might not have made it through seven! This is 'Game of Thrones'...Even if she didn't get that final end result of being united with her family again, my hope for her is that she continues to keep growing more and more powerful and confident in herself. But in reality, it's probably not going to happen, and she's probably going to die!"