Sophie Turner revealed she’s joined a number of Hollywood stars who are refusing to work in the US States implementing strict abortion laws.
The actress and her X-Men: Rise Of The Dark Phoenix co-star Jessica Chastain confirmed that they are among the 50 A-listers who signed letter boycotting working in US states like Georgia and Alabama, which recently passed the ‘heartbeat’ abortion bill as early as six weeks into pregnancy.
And while many are pleased to see the actress taking a stand, others are less than impressed that she wasn’t as vocal while filming Game of Thrones in Northen Ireland.
Indeed, N Ireland has some of the strictest abortions laws in the world. In 2017 alone, almost 1,000 women travelled from N Ireland to England and Wales for abortions because it would be illegal to do so in Northern Ireland.
Sophie explained in an interview with Sky News that her agents will be shocked by her decision to step away from work in states like Georgia.
‘I have yet to tell my agents I signed it. They’re going to be like: “What? You can’t work in these states?” Yeah, I can’t work in these states,’ she admitted.
#XMen stars @jes_chastain and @SophieT tell Sky News they have signed a letter, along with dozens of other celebrities vowing to boycott working in US states with strict abortion laws.
Get more on this story here: https://t.co/2NFRsdkzyV pic.twitter.com/sI2zk7nIF3
— Sky News (@SkyNews) May 29, 2019
And when the reporter highlighted the fact she had just finished filming the final season of Game of Thrones in a place where it is also illegal to have abortions, Sophie kept her response simple.
‘There was a lot of work of Game of Thrones there. So luckily we’re moving on,’ she stated.
Sophie Turner filmed GoT in Northern Ireland for 10 years here and didn’t say a word about the Draconian abortion restrictions here. Jessica Chastain had nothing to say when they filmed Miss Julie here in 2017. https://t.co/yaUDePHscs
— Stephen Donnan-Dalzell (@Donnan_S) May 29, 2019
The Game of Thrones star’s comments has launched a heated debate among fans after several took to Twitter to air their grievances about Sophie and Jessica’s silence when it came to Northern Ireland.
One Twitter user commented: ‘Sophie Turner filmed GoT in Northern Ireland for 10 years here and didn’t say a word about the Draconian abortion restrictions here. Jessica Chastain had nothing to say when they filmed Miss Julie here in 2017.’
And their argument was met with a mix of responses with many fans coming to Sophie defence.
‘Sophie Turner was a nobody before GoT and would’ve likely continued to be a nobody had she objected at the time. Only now that she’s established does her stance actually carry any weight,’ one fan wrote.
While another added: ‘To be fair to Sophie Turner, she is still quite young and was a child for much of that time.’
For the most part, many are happy to see Sophie using her fame and influence to speak up about the issue and hoping that she will take the chance to show her support for those campaigning in Northern Ireland in the near future.
‘Great @SophieT will boycott US states with strict abortion laws. Abortion law in Northern Ireland is amongst the harshest in the world – the punishment for abortion is life in prison, no exception for rape or incest. We hope Sophie will show solidarity with NI, too #NowforNI’, one person tweeted.
Game of Thrones season 8 is streaming on Now TV.
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