‘Game of Thrones’ Fans Who Started Season 8 ‘Rewrite’ Petition Raised $25K For Emilia Clarke’s Charity

As many of you are aware, the cultural phenomenon that was Game of Thrones has officially come to an end after airing its eventful yet controversial eighth season. Fans who were less than thrilled with the ending of the series joined forces on GoT subreddit “r/freefolk” to launch a viral petition to have Season 8 remade. Now, those same fans have banded together to raise $25K as part of a different online campaign for actress Emilia Clarke’s charity.

The original petition garnered over 1.5 million signatures from disgruntled fans and even solicited responses from GoT stars such as Sophie Turner and Kit Harington. Due to its overwhelming response, the reddit users initiated a fundraiser for Clarke’s SameYou charity which benefits those recovering from brain injuries and strokes.

According to Entertainment Weekly, user elle_ellaria begun the charity initiative on Reddit for a good cause as well as a way to prove that those fans who have been criticized for being too critical are still a positive force who can influence change.

“We wanted to send a message that even though fans have been very vocal in their disappointment with the conclusion of the series, none of that is directed at the cast and crew — all of whom did an incredible job bringing Westeros to life,” said the anonymous woman. “Every single department on ‘Game of Thrones’ showed up and showed out. The visual effects were incredible, the costumes, the scoring, the set design, the performances.

She continued, “These people were the only ones who stopped the whole thing from looking like a bad cartoon. But the ending can’t fully diminish the pleasures of experiencing the series, or what the characters have meant to viewers over the years.”

The Reddit campaign, titled “Justice for Daenerys,” has thus far collected $25,000 in donations in just over two days and the contributions are still pouring in, now at 56% of its intended goal. Anyone can donate via the group’s JustGiving campaign page.

The charity, which was started by Clarke, was influenced by her own experiences after she suffered life-threatening brain aneurysms earlier this year during the making of the show.

As for the viral petition that Turner called “disrespectful,” the woman told EW that it was a “tongue-in-cheek” joke that started on Reddit as a direct reaction to the writing done by showrunners David Benioff and D.B. Weiss and not the series in its entirety, especially not the cast and crew.

If you’re interested in giving to Clarke’s charity, you can donate here.

Michael is a music and television junkie keen on most things that are not a complete and total bore. You can follow him on Twitter — @Tweetskoor

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