Some ‘Game of Thrones’ fans outraged by Sansa Stark rape scene

Some “Game of Thrones” fans say they are giving up on the show after a controversial rape scene in last week’s episode.

Outrage followed Sunday’s episode in which Sansa Stark (Sophie Turner) is raped by the villainous Ramsay Bolton. In addition to provoking those who believe “Game of Thrones” treats the subject of rape in a cavalier way, the scene also angered fans who felt HBO’s story line is drifting too far from the George R.R. Martin fantasy novels that serve as the basis of the series.

Sen. Claire McCaskill (D-Mo.) was among the protesters. “Gratuitous rape scene disgusting and unacceptable,” she tweeted Tuesday, declaring “I’m done” with the series. (On Wednesday, she added that it was “kinda depressing” that many more people were concerned about “Game of Thrones” than about U.S. intelligence reform, which she also tweeted about this week.)

On the Daily Beast, writer Melissa Leon argued that the rape scene was “extraneous” and added that Sansa’s “plotline was not advance at all by this scene.” The article also criticized “Game of Thrones” for the way it has handled rape in the past.

So far, the creators have said almost zero about the controversy.

On his blog, Not a Blog, Martin wrote that he received a “flood of emails” about Sunday’s episode. “It’s not unanticipated,” he said.

But he said that the TV series has always been a different telling of the stories told in his books. But “there has seldom been any TV series as faithful to its source material, by and large,” he added.

Martin also chided readers for commenting about the series on his blog, which he prefers to keep free of discussion about the HBO show.

What do you think of the latest “Game of Thrones” controversy?

Twitter: @scottcollinsLAT