--- title: Emilia Clarke Says Game of Thrones Isn't Sexist description: "Women are not only equal, but have a lot of strength" canonical: https://time.com/4274762/game-of-thrones-sexist-emilia-clarke/ author: Tara John article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2016-03-29T13:00:28.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-02-22T16:17:19.620Z article:section: Entertainment og:title: Emilia Clarke Says 'Game of Thrones' Isn't Sexist og:description: She says it "ultimately shows women are not only equal, but have a lot of strength" og:url: https://time.com/4274762/game-of-thrones-sexist-emilia-clarke/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt5fca9a9dc105552d/698863ddcf40a837d2c3fbaa/150918_em_emmybosses_targaryen.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 675 og:image:alt: 150918_EM_EmmyBosses_Targaryen og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Emilia Clarke Says 'Game of Thrones' Isn't Sexist twitter:description: She says it "ultimately shows women are not only equal, but have a lot of strength" twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt5fca9a9dc105552d/698863ddcf40a837d2c3fbaa/150918_em_emmybosses_targaryen.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Emilia Clarke Says _Game of Thrones_ Isn't Sexist by [Tara John](https://time.com/author/tara-john/) ## Tara John Mar 29, 2016 1:00 PM UTC  Emilia Clarke in “Game of Thrones” on HBO Emilia Clarke in “Game of Thrones” on HBOMacall B. Polay—HBO/courtesy Everett Collection by [Tara John](https://time.com/author/tara-john/) ## Tara John Mar 29, 2016 1:00 PM UTC _Game of Thrones_ gets plenty of [criticism for its depiction of women](http://time.com/70829/game-of-thrones-rape/). But the most boss woman on the show—Emilia Clarke, who plays Daenerys Targaryen, or Khaleesi—[says the hit HBO series isn’t sexist](http://www.ew.com/article/2016/03/26/game-thrones-emilia-clarke-season-6). “Yet that’s what’s beautiful about _Game of Thrones—_its depiction of women in so many different stages of development,” Clarke told [Entertainment Weekly](http://www.ew.com/article/2016/03/26/game-thrones-emilia-clarke-season-6). “So it pains me to hear people taking _Thrones_ out of context with anti-feminist spin. It shows the range that happens to women, and ultimately shows women are not only equal, but have a lot of strength.” [Read more at EW.com](http://www.ew.com/article/2016/03/26/game-thrones-emilia-clarke-season-6). The show returns to HBO on April 24. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4274762/game-of-thrones-sexist-emilia-clarke/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4274762/game-of-thrones-sexist-emilia-clarke/"},"headline":"Emilia Clarke Says Game of Thrones Isn't Sexist","datePublished":"2016-03-29T13:00:28.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-22T16:17:19.620Z","description":"She says it \"ultimately shows women are not only equal, but have a lot of strength\"","url":"https://time.com/4274762/game-of-thrones-sexist-emilia-clarke/","keywords":["Television","celebrities"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt5fca9a9dc105552d/698863ddcf40a837d2c3fbaa/150918_em_emmybosses_targaryen.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Tara John","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/tara-john/"}],"articleSection":"Entertainment","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt5fca9a9dc105552d/698863ddcf40a837d2c3fbaa/150918_em_emmybosses_targaryen.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"150918_EM_EmmyBosses_Targaryen","caption":"Emilia Clarke in “Game of Thrones” on HBO","creditText":"Macall B. Polay—HBO/courtesy Everett Collection","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/entertainment/","name":"Entertainment"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/4274762/game-of-thrones-sexist-emilia-clarke/","name":"Emilia Clarke Says Game of Thrones Isn't Sexist"}}]}] ```