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'Game of Thrones' star Jason Momoa apologizes for resurfaced rape joke
By Jessica Sager, Jessica Sager
Published October 13, 2017
Jason Momoa apologized after a rape joke he made in 2011 came back to haunt him.
“As far as sci-fi and fantasy, I love that genre because there are so many things you can do, like rip someone’s tongue out of their throat and get away with it and rape beautiful women,” the “Game of Thrones” star joked at San Diego Comic-Con in 2011.
A clip of the moment went viral on Thursday and made the “Aquaman” actor a trending topic on Twitter.
Momoa, 38, made the joke about his character, Khal Drogo, in the massive HBO hit series.
On Thursday night, Momoa made a public mea culpa for the off-color remark.
“I awoke in Australia to the justified reactions by many people to a distasteful joke I made years ago in Hall H for which I am sorry,” he wrote on Instagram.
“I am still severely disappointed in myself at the insensitivity of my remarks that day. I know my sincerest apology now won’t take away those hurtful words,” he continued. “Rape and sexual harassment can reach anyone and I have seen first hand its painful torment among members of my own family and friends. I made a truly tasteless comment. It is unacceptable and I sincerely apologize with a heavy heart for the words I said.”
Momoa previously told the Post that he wasn’t entirely comfortable filming scenes in which his character rapes his onscreen wife, Daenerys Targaryen, played by Emilia Clarke.
“I’m raping Emilia [Clarke, who plays Daenerys]. I love her, but I’m hurting her and she’s crying. We could have made it longer, but you get the idea,” the actor, who is married in real life to Lisa Bonet, said. “I’m not a rapist! I prefer my women to enjoy sex … Just do whatever your woman wants, and you’ll be fine.”
The backlash came just a day after Momoa’s “Justice League” co-star, Ben Affleck, publicly apologized for groping then-MTV VJ Hilarie Burton in 2003, and a week after it was revealed Harvey Weinstein had been accused of sexual harassment and assault for decades.
This article originally appeared in the New York Post's Page Six.
https://www.foxnews.com/entertainment/game-of-thrones-star-jason-momoa-apologizes-for-resurfaced-rape-joke