Kit Harington is opening up about the fan backlash that followed ‘Game of Thrones’ polarizing final season.
In a new interview with The New York Times, the actor addressed the infamous Change.org petition that demanded HBO remake the show’s eighth season. The 2019 campaign, which labeled showrunners David Benioff and D.B. Weiss as “woefully incompetent writers,” amassed 1.73 million signatures by September of that year.
Harington didn’t mince words about his feelings toward the petition:
“That genuinely angered me. Like, how dare you? Sorry, that’s just how I feel. I think it was a level of idiocy that can only come about through social media.”
The British star isn’t alone in his frustration. Co-stars Sophie Turner and Carice van Houten previously condemned the petition as well, with Turner calling it “disrespectful to the crew and the filmmakers” and van Houten labeling it “fandom extremism.”
While the Jon Snow actor acknowledged in a 2024 GQ interview that some storytelling choices “didn’t quite work” and the season may have felt rushed, he attributed any shortcomings to sheer exhaustion. He also revealed that his proposed Jon Snow spinoff series was ultimately scrapped after years of development because nothing felt exciting enough to warrant continuing the character’s journey.
Harington is currently promoting the latest season of ‘Industry,’ which airs Sundays on HBO.