HBO star Matt Smith has taken aim at sensitive modern audiences who have become reliant on “trigger warnings” before TV shows and films.
Speaking to The Times recently, the House of the Dragon actor, 41, claimed that giving viewers “trigger warnings” has made TV shows “simpler”.
“It's a shame there's a lot of policing of stories and being afraid to put them out because the environment is a certain way. I'm not sure I'm on board with trigger warnings,” Smith said.
“I'm not sure I'm on board with trigger warnings. It's okay to feel uncomfortable or triggered when looking at a painting or watching a play, but I worry that everything is being dialed down and minimized.”
“We're telling the audience they're going to be scared before they even see anything,” he said.
Smith isn't the first actor to speak out about “trigger warnings” this year.
Judi Dench previously admitted she was surprised to learn that theatre audiences were “routinely being warned about potentially disturbing content, including abuse, violence and loud noises.”
Smith's comments come after viewers were horrified by an explicit sex scene in the latest episode of the “Game of Thrones” prequel, “House of the Dragon.”
While fans of the HBO fantasy series are accustomed to seeing X-rated moments in the show's original series, the spin-off has been relatively quiet – including an episode in which viewers were treated to scenes of one character performing oral sex on another.
In the episode, King Aegon II Targaryen (played by Tom Glynn-Carney) takes his squad of soldiers to spend the night at a brothel.
The arrogant leader then started tearing the curtains to expose various activities going on in the establishment when the camera stopped on a woman engaged in sexual activity.
Although the series is known for pushing boundaries, fans were left shocked by the graphic scene, with some even wondering why the scene was allowed to air.
“I think the prosthetic counts. It can't be real. Looked fake,” one tweeted, while another wrote: “Wow that was so in your face. I was expecting to see sex but I didn't expect this. This show always surprises me.”
'Uhhhh that (sex act) was front and centre,' said another, while one expressed surprise: “I'm actually surprised they were able to air that.”
