Real Reason Why Emilia Clarke Never Googles Herself and Game of Thrones is to Be Blamed: ‘Cut me some goddamn slack’
Emilia Clarke refused to search her name on Google after discovering people’s comments about her appearance.
Emilia Clarke has been very vocal about her feelings playing Daenerys Targaryen in HBO’s Game of Thrones. Even after its eight-season run, fans still remember the events in the first season as vividly as the daylight, and so does the actress.
She was only 24 when she portrayed Khaleesi on screen, a performance that required her to bare a lot of skin. Not only did this take a toll on her mental health, but the fans’ criticisms were also harsh and insensitive.
Emilia Clarke Vowed Never to Google Her Name After One Devastating Incident
Fresh out of drama school, actress Emilia Clarke got her big break when she was cast in Game of Thrones. The opportunity looked very exciting, and for a rookie star, it must have felt like cloud nine. It’s only normal to have the desire to know what people think of your performance as it is a way to improve your craft, but the Internet is also a dark place.
After the first season aired, Clarke admitted she tried to look up her name on Google, and she only found horrendous remarks about her and her physical appearance. In an interview with Dax Shepard’s Armchair Expert podcast, she said:
The reason why I don’t Google myself, I learnt it very early, and I don’t look at all ever, ever, ever was because when I did after Season 1, I just saw articles about like how fat my a** was, why would a girl ever do this? And I’m like, ‘You know what? I’m a kid, man! Cut me some goddamn slack.’
The actress had been sharing her experience on the set of Game of Thrones, and while she had some of her peers extending their support, like her costar Jason Momoa coming to her aid, it did not take away the fact that her character was heavily s*xualized throughout the series.
The show’s creators are partly to be blamed here as evident in George R.R. Martin’s rant about the changes in the plot. One clear example was the alteration on Daenerys and Khal Drogo’s wedding night.
The author was enraged with how the scene deviated from the book. In James Hibberd’s Fire Cannot Kill a Dragon, he asked: “Why did the wedding scene change from the consensual seduction scene to the brutal r*pe of Emilia Clarke?” It was a decision that they never discussed, he revealed.
Emilia Clarke’s Game of Thrones Season 1 Scenes Made Her Shed Tears
Clarke did not shy away from admitting the scenes in Season 1 were tough. In her conversation with CBS News, she confessed to crying in between takes. There were moments when she said, “I’m gonna go and cry in the loo for a second. I’ll be right back.”
It’s truly understandable why she felt that way even though she looked confident onscreen. Apart from the unnecessary changes made by the showrunners, the netizens’ response to her explicit scenes lacked respect and compassion.
Game of Thrones is currently available to stream on HBO.
