Aside from her joint announcement with estranged husband Joe Jonas, the actress has yet to comment on their very public divorce. A lesson on restraint and discretion for us all.
In case you have been living under a rock—or perhaps just totally oblivious to entertainment news, which is fine—allow me to set the stage here.
Celebrity couple Joe Jonas (whom with his two other siblings form the band The Jonas Brothers) and Sophie Turner (the British beauty who rose to fame as one of the primary cast members of the wildly successful HBO series Game of Thrones) in a joint statement posted on their socials announced the end of their marriage on Sept. 6.
The world—and in it, social media—is different now. It is no longer (for the most part) tolerant of judgmental, misogynistic and double-standard views on motherhood and working women in general.
This came in the wake of already mounting speculation that the two had been living apart for months and were headed for divorce. When they made their announcement, Jonas was on tour with his brothers and had their two children in tow, while Turner was in London filming a TV series.
Despite the seemingly amicable split, smelly undertones began to surface. Some media outlets started painting this picture of the devoted dad who chooses to stay at home with the children while their mother “likes to party.”
An “anonymous source” added more gasoline to the fire by planting seeds of an alleged disloyalty on Turner’s part, saying the last nail on the coffin came after Jonas caught his ex-wife on a ring camera “saying/doing something” that confirmed their marriage was over.
Thankfully, netizens in huge part were not buying it, and the general consensus was that Turner is a victim of a smear campaign by Jonas’ PR camp. With social media rallying behind the embattled Turner, Jonas seemed compelled to make a statement in the middle his LA concert a few days ago urging his fans that “if you don’t hear it from these lips, don’t believe it. Ok?”
So far, there hasn’t been a single peep from Turner throughout this melodrama that has Jonas Brothers groupies and GoT fans captivated almost two weeks. For the first time since their joint announcement, Turner was photographed in London taking a break from taping her series Joan. Based on the life of infamous jewelry thief Joan Harrington, its star cut a solitary figure as she stood by the bushes having a cigarette break. Dolled up with wing-tipped eyeliner and a frosty bob, and those booty shorts revealing a banging after-baby body, she looked every bit the in-demand TV star she is.
However, that wincing side eye and those hunched shoulders spoke volumes, and it offered more introspection than any planted information or side comment ever will.
While the misogynists in media might want us to see a woman who would rather work miles away from her small children and slam down shots after a cast party, it’s good to know that the general audience see otherwise.
I cannot speak for others, but what I see is a young mother eager to get back in the game, doing what she does really (really!) well. A young actress who, like any woman in the business, understands that she does not have many more bankable years and would like to strike while the iron is hot, and in her case, while people still have the faintest memory of her as fire-haired Sansa Stark.
As a mother, and someone who understands the importance of staying relevant and having to remain in the scene, I can relate to how Turner needs to grab whatever golden opportunities come her way while these are still being handed to her. Unfortunately, not everyone in her corner seems to understand that, and while the cause of her marriage falling to shits can only be speculative, the jibes at Turner have opened the window for that kind of narrative.
The world—and in it, social media—is different now. It is no longer (for the most part) tolerant of judgmental, misogynistic and double-standard views on motherhood and working women in general. It will not stand back while somebody— who is largely beloved—is defamed and gossiped on while she makes an honest living.
All Sophie Turner had to do was be quiet, allowing her to privately cope with her failed marriage as she toiled far away from her babies, and the world fought back on her behalf.
