Game of Thrones David J. Peterson clarifies Emilia Clarke Dothraki skills controversy

Did the Mother of Dragons actually 'suck' at Dothraki? Series linguist David J. Peterson is setting the record straight. After years of a perceived rift over linguistic performance, Peterson has finally addressed the claims made by Emilia Clarke, asserting that any criticism was actually a misunderstanding of character design.

Why David J. Peterson never criticized Emilia Clarke's Dothraki

The controversy resurfaced on January 12, 2026, when the 39-year-old actress appeared on 'Late Night With Seth Meyers.' Clarke recalled feeling "hurt" and "really pissed" after reading an article claiming Peterson critiqued her command of the fictional tongue. However, Peterson told Entertainment Weekly (EW) that his comments were misinterpreted.

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Valyrian vs Dothraki: The linguistic nuance in Game of Thrones

Peterson emphasized that while characters played by actors like Jason Momoa needed native fluency, Clarke's character was learning the language in real-time. He compared criticizing her Dothraki to "criticizing Colin Firth for stuttering in 'The King's Speech'—it would be entirely missing the point."

Interestingly, Peterson has always been a staunch defender of Clarke’s performance in High Valyrian. Since Valyrian was Daenerys' native tongue, Clarke was expected to be fluent, and Peterson previously described her delivery as "outstanding" and "natural" during the show's 8-season run.