Sansa Stark’s Rape Scene Controversy to Change How ‘GoT' Showrunners Portray Violence?

Game of Thrones director Jeremy Podeswa recently confessed that the controversy surrounding Sansa Stark's rape – a sexually violent scene nowhere near George R.R. Martin's books – has "changed" how HBO writers and producers go about making the epic fantasy show.

According to Forbes, the 53 year-old filmmaker, who sat in the director's chair for two episodes of next year's sixth season, recently spoke in Sydney, Australia, about the challenges of the next season of the popular show, revealing that producers were definitely influenced by criticism.

"It is important that [the producers] not self-censor," said Podeswa, via Comic Book. "The show depicts a brutal world where horrible things happen. They did not want to be too overly influenced by that [criticism] but they did absorb and take it in and it did influence them in a way."

The Canadian director also added that Game of Thrones showrunners Dan Weiss and David Benioff had been "responsive to the discussion" regarding violence in television, and had set about making things different in the show afterwards.

Last spring, the controversial scene, which saw Sansa (Sophie Turner) being raped by much-hated villain Ramsay Bolton (Iwan Rheon), drew a world of criticism as accusations of extreme violence towards women reigned on Game of Thrones, in a move that was deemed unnecessary by numerous sections of the Internet.

Time and again, the epic fantasy series based on Martin's A Song of Ice and Fire saga has gotten backlash over its treatment of women and perceived violence against them, but Sansa's rape scene was a little too much for everyone to tolerate, and even Senator Claire McCaskill said she was "done" with the show afterwards.

On the previous season, the show saw a similar burst of criticism, when another major female character in the show, Lena Headey's Queen Cersei, was also raped by her brother/lover Jaime Lannister.

Turner, on her part, spoke to Entertainment Weekly when the episode first aired earlier this year, saying she had "secretly loved it" that her character had gone through this difficult ordeal.