Game of Thrones showrunners slammed as “b***ends” by UFC star

Game of Thrones’ showrunners have come under fire once again, this time from UFC Paddy Pimblett – who described the infamous duo as “b***ends.”

After Lord of the Rings, Game of Thrones is the most important fantasy franchise in pop culture. It single-handedly altered the mainstream lexicon with George R.R. Martin’s expansive lore and adages, not to mention becoming one of the most-watched shows of the past decade.

Yet, disaster struck in its closing stretch with an extinction-level final season, so widely and furiously dismissed that fans refrained from celebrating it any further. After a period of backlash, it simply vanished… and, rather miraculously, it has been resurrected by House of the Dragon.

Alas, many fans still aren’t over what went down in the last episodes of the original series – and Pimblett didn’t mince his words.

UFC star Paddy Pimblett slams Game of Thrones showrunners

In a new interview with Nina Drama, Pimblett was asked to pick his favorite movie. “I love films, so I couldn’t pick one. I love me mob movies… Goodfellas, Once Upon a Time in America, The Godfather Part 1 and 2, A Bronx Tale is up there as well,” he said.

“I love all types of films… I love films like The Dark Knight, The Prestige, stuff like that.”

He was then asked about Game of Thrones, and he called it “the best series ever made… up until Season 6, and then them two arseh*les who made it absolutely ruined it to go and make Star Wars. What is it, D&D? Pair of b***ends.”

David Benioff and D. B. Weiss served as showrunners on the series, and while their work on the earlier seasons sparked numerous controversies (Sansa Stark’s rape scene, the neglect of Dorne), they also earned plaudits from critics across the world.

However, as soon as they ventured beyond Martin’s source material, the criticism intensified. They also developed another contentious series: Confederate, which would have been set in a version of modern-day America where slavery was still legal. It was officially canceled by HBO three years after it was announced.

Many fans believe the duo were keen to move on to other projects, hence the rushed and clumsy story decisions by the end of Game of Thrones. They were originally enlisted to write and produce a new series of Star Wars movies, but they exited their contract for a $200 million deal with Netflix.

Next year, their next big project will drop: an adaptation of The Three-Body Problem for the streamer, which you can find out more about here.