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Kit Harington Criticizes Game of Thrones Season 8 Petition

Published 12 January 2026

Kit Harington, known for portraying Jon Snow in HBO's Game of Thrones, has expressed strong frustration over a 2019 fan petition demanding a remake of the series' eighth and final season. In a recent interview with The New York Times, the actor described the online campaign as infuriating, highlighting the intense backlash that followed the season's premiere.

The petition, launched on Change.org shortly after the season aired in April 2019, sought to redo the episodes with what organizers called "competent writers." It began with a modest goal of 15,000 signatures but quickly surpassed 1.8 million, fueled by widespread disappointment among viewers and critics. Harington, who played the exiled Night's Watch member central to the finale's plot, said the response caught him off guard. "That genuinely angered me," he told the interviewer. "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."

At the time, Harington was undergoing treatment in rehabilitation for personal issues, including alcoholism, and missed the initial rollout of the episodes. Upon emerging, he was stunned by the volume of criticism...

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