Matt Smith Laments Trigger Warnings for Telling Audiences How to Feel: ‘Everything’s Being Dialed and Dumbed Down’

“Isn’t being shocked, surprised, stirred the point?” the “House of the Dragon” star poses

Matt Smith at a "House of the Dragon" screening in Los Angeles (Credit: Getty Images)
Matt Smith at a "House of the Dragon" screening in Los Angeles (Credit: Jon Kopaloff/Getty Images)

Matt Smith is worried that “everything’s being dialed and dumbed down” in the entertainment world because of the rise of trigger warnings.

Speaking to The Times of London, the “House of the Dragon” star lamented at how trigger warnings are keeping the audience from having a visceral, unexpected reaction like “being shocked, surprised, stirred” – which he thinks is the whole point of stories.

“It’s OK to feel uncomfortable or provoked while looking at a painting or watching a play, but I worry everything’s being dialed and dumbed down,” Smith said. “We’re telling audiences they’re going to be scared before they’ve watched something.”

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