HBO Pulls 'Game of Thrones' Episode With Bush Severed Head, Halts DVD Shipments
As NewsBusters reported Thursday, the season finale of HBO's hit series Game of Thrones included a gruesome image of former President George W. Bush's severed head impaled on a stake.
In the wake of heat from conservative critics including us, the New York Daily News reports the cable network has taken action to rectify its egregious error:
In the face of outrage from conservative critics, HBO announced Friday that it was pulling the episode in question - last year's season finale - from its rotation, as well as iTunes and HBO GO and froze all shipments of DVD box sets, until the offending scene could be edited out.
"We were deeply dismayed to see this and find it unacceptable, disrespectful and in very bad taste," the network said in a statement Friday. "We made this clear to the executive producers of the series, who apologized immediately for this careless mistake.
"We condemn it in the strongest possible terms and have halted all future shipments of the DVDs, removed it from our digital platforms and will edit the scene for all future airings on any distribution domestic or international."
The Hollywood Reporter further observed, "[T]he dramatic end to the freshman season of the series adapted from George R.R. Martin's books will be edited for all future airings both domestically and internationally."
This is all well and good, but maybe HBO executives need to examine the culture of their organization from top to bottom to fully understand how something like this could have happened and what they're doing to foster such disrespect to right-leaning elected officials.
They could begin with their employee Bill Maher who on virtually a weekly basis says some of the most offensive things about conservatives of any media member in the country.
Is it possible that he is setting the low standards at HBO, and that everyone both within the organization and producing material for it believes there are no limits of decency when it comes to politicians on the right side of the aisle including showing an image of a former president's severed head on a stake?
HBO might end up doing the right thing concerning this incident, and we applaud that.
However, if disciplinary action to those involved is not strict enough, and a grander examination of all HBO programming along with guidelines for the future not accomplished, this will certainly happen again.
Failing that, a Band-Aid has just been applied to a severed artery.
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— Noel Sheppard (@NoelSheppard) June 9, 2012
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Comments
Nice Reporting!
Submitted by rman2 on Sat, 06/16/2012 - 11:00am.
Thanks for the update and I agree with your analysis. I believe conservatives are partly to blame for this by not addressing these kinds of passive aggressive situations in the past from Hollywood and the MSM. Glad to see things are changing and people like you are holding their feet to the fire. They will eventually get the message that we are tired of this crap and it needs to stop!
Who Called for Behar to be Fired
Submitted by libBuster on Sat, 06/16/2012 - 12:12pm.
You are right-- conservative lack of gumption is partially to blame. For example, who called for Joy Behar's firing over her remark about Romney's house burning down. Liberals were all over Limbaugh for his remarks about the unctuous Sandra Fluke.
Conservatives partly to blame? You must be kidding?
Submitted by bfrank on Sat, 06/16/2012 - 2:16pm.
Is it our job to monitor everything out of Hollyweird? Who the hell watches HBO? We do not play 'victim game' as the Left plays. Liberalism has always been placing their subliminal messages in media since the early 20th century. We just need to stop them cold when it comes to policy and not support their outlets. I have never subscribed to HBO, watched sitcoms or gone to a movie in 15 years. There is barely a pop movie, song or television show which dismisses conservatives, Christianity, correct morality and Republicans. Remember that Canadian movie about how the world would be if Bush was assassinated? Gee, where is the Obama version? It would never make it to the storyboard. Remember how the Hollyweird producers changed the villains in Tom Clancy's great 1991 novel, 'Sum of All Fears', from Islamofascists to Russian-based Nazis? Right. The primary villains in 2002 were Nazis from Russia? The truth hurt so they changed the script. Amazing how the liberal mind works. Their tactics of re-editing history, novels, movies, speeches and events is sticking their heads in the sand when the facts to not support their ideologue which is all the time. That is what the liberal media has been doing for generations. Thank God for MRC.
I look forward to the day
Submitted by Slyrr on Sat, 06/16/2012 - 6:52pm.
I look forward to the day when Obama and his cabal of corrupt 'czars' are cast out in November. Then Republicans can root out the money laundering scheme they rigged to funnel taxpayer cash to keep these failed liberal networks afloat.
Cut off their funding, and they'll die the deaths they so richly deserve.
If that had been Obama's
Submitted by rbosque on Sat, 06/16/2012 - 11:12am.
If that had been Obama's head. You know the left would get their panties in knots and foam at the mouth looking to arrest anyone at HBO.
Agreed
Submitted by Restless Legs on Sat, 06/16/2012 - 11:21am.
I was thinking the same thing! The MSM would have given the story the Trayvon Martin treatment if it had been Obama's head on a spike.
What I know
Submitted by Franksam on Sat, 06/16/2012 - 1:00pm.
I know that if I had a President whose head was placed on a spike, he would look like Barack Obama.
We're Really Sorry....
Submitted by bigdaddy on Sat, 06/16/2012 - 11:33am.
...That We Got Caught....
Precisely, and the producer’s
Submitted by Reaver on Sat, 06/16/2012 - 12:10pm.
Precisely, and the producer’s claim that they weren’t making a political statement…
"The last head on the left is George Bush. George Bush's head appears in a couple of beheading scenes. It's not a choice, it's not a political statement. We just had to use whatever head we had around,” Benioff and Weiss said.
… sounds about as sincere as “the dog ate my homework”. No pictures of Obama’s head lying around?
Scorecard: HBO vs. Newsbusters
Submitted by Free Stinker on Sat, 06/16/2012 - 11:37am.
New Media: 1
Azs Holes: 0
/// Sarah Palin Fan since July 11, 2007 /// خال
Is that Bush's real head?
Submitted by redfish on Sat, 06/16/2012 - 11:39am.
Is that Bush's real head?
No
Submitted by CobraMan on Sat, 06/16/2012 - 11:56am.
No, it's his substitute head, the one he puts on when visiting his mother-in-law.
The Citizens of each State shall be entitled to all Privileges and Immunities of Citizens in the several States. The US Constitution
Unless you're a fetus. The US Supreme Court
Or Anwar al-Awlaki.
I'm glad HBO did the right thing
Submitted by Blonde on Sat, 06/16/2012 - 11:42am.
I truly believe that the HBO management staff was unaware of this disgusting episode, and that the blame lays entirely on their production crew. It's unfortunate, GOT is a pretty amazing series, and is fairly true to the books (so far).
I hope this episode will open their eyes to the offensive nature of Bill Maher's show. Time will tell.
Handy Reference Guide to Obama's Gaffes and Goofs ~ Currently Numbering 200 (and Counting)
the medium of film as a teaching tool and Propaganda tool
Submitted by lrgon on Sat, 06/16/2012 - 11:42am.
The Ox-Box Incident taught movie goers that those that assume leasdership roles can be dead wrong. Colonel Tetly leads a mob (posse) to track down the killers of a rancher. They run across a young man without a bill of sale for the cattle, a witless old man and a shady character of Mexican decent. They hang them without a trial even though they had nothing to do with the rancher's death. The sheriff rides up too late and cusses out the mob for hanging three innocents. The assumed murdered rancher was just wounded and he did sell some cows to one of the unfortunate ones hanged at Ox-Bow. http://www.filmsite.org/oxbo.html
Let's assume some conservative film makers made a film depicting a head on a pike that looked like Joe Biden or the other guy what's his name. What possible motivation would they have to do that? Conservatives would think it was funny?
If Hollywood leftwing producers hated Bush for his war policies then they should despise Obama for his use of drones to kill innocent civilians a la Ox-Bow, employing this cowardly method of warfare 5 times more often than did Cheney- Bush.
Most of the 9-11 hijackers came from Saudi Arabia and a few from Yemen. Would it make sense to put every Saudi's and Yemeni's head on a pike for the cowardly deeds of 19 hijackers? The neoconwood's answer is to attack Iraq that had no connection to 9-11. http://www.pensitoreview.com/2008/01/16/bush-admits-majority-of-911-hija...
I know it's hard
Submitted by Bliggie on Sat, 06/16/2012 - 11:43am.
I know it's hard for conservatives to believe that grownups would do such a stupid, idiotic and childish act but this is what we are up against. This IS who these people are. This IS Obama. These people are petty, immature, fake, and worst of all hateful and full of rage. This was no accident. There is no debating or talking with liberals. All they will do is insult you and shout you down. They dont want compromise. They want their agenda to be pushed the hell with compromising. There is a political war going on in America. And to the liberals we are the enemy. This is a disgrace.
Where have I seen that head before?
Submitted by RESTLESS 1 on Sat, 06/16/2012 - 11:47am.
I seem to remember that head being used elsewhere.
Question is, who made it, and why? The left really does need to think twice before conjuring up violent images. They can bleed too.
HBO pulls off Bush's Head
Submitted by CobraMan on Sat, 06/16/2012 - 11:59am.
There's a title you won't be seeing any time soon. Heh
The Citizens of each State shall be entitled to all Privileges and Immunities of Citizens in the several States. The US Constitution
Unless you're a fetus. The US Supreme Court
Or Anwar al-Awlaki.
As non Liberals, we should...
Submitted by poseA on Sat, 06/16/2012 - 12:00pm.
As non Liberals, we should really avoid controlling speech and other forms of expression which do not involve causing fellow citizens physical or financial harm beyond the scope of one's written or spoken consent.
Doing otherwise is the cowards way out and precisely why Liberals are often so detached from reality.
This isn't controlling speech
Submitted by CobraMan on Sat, 06/16/2012 - 12:10pm.
This isn't controlling speech, it's enforcing dignity and civil rights. HBO doesn't have the right, legally, to use a likeness of Bush in this manner. They need his permission for that. Bush is a living human being. His image belongs to him, and him alone. No one has the right to copy it and display it without his permission, especially for a commercial endeavor like a pay-for-service cable tv series. Never mind the fact that it was totally inappropriate, and down right insulting.
Why do you think HBO is pulling the head from any further releases? They know they're legally liable. If they weren't they wouldn't be pulling it. They would be using the controversy as a free promotional gimmick. They're not stupid, you know.
The Citizens of each State shall be entitled to all Privileges and Immunities of Citizens in the several States. The US Constitution
Unless you're a fetus. The US Supreme Court
Or Anwar al-Awlaki.
Actually...
Submitted by poseA on Sat, 06/16/2012 - 7:37pm.
"This isn't controlling speech, it's enforcing dignity and civil rights."
That's nonsense. You don't have a right to not be offended, but you do a have the right to change the channel.
"HBO doesn't have the right, legally, to use a likeness of Bush in this manner."
They should have the right to express criticism and disdain for whomever they choose in any manner they choose, so long as nobody is harmed physically or financially beyond the scope of his written or spoken consent.
"Why do you think HBO is pulling the head from any further releases?"
Because, like most corporations, they are cowards. This is the same sort of cowardice exhibited by ESPN when they fired Anthony Frederico for his "chink in armor" comment regarding Jeremy Lin.
You don't have a right...
Submitted by CobraMan on Sun, 06/17/2012 - 2:40pm.
You don't have a right to benefit commercially of the likeness of another living human being. You need their permission for that. It's called the Right of Publicity, also know as the Right of Personality. Several States, including New York and California, have laws concerning those rights.
What part of that don't you understand?
The Citizens of each State shall be entitled to all Privileges and Immunities of Citizens in the several States. The US Constitution
Unless you're a fetus. The US Supreme Court
Or Anwar al-Awlaki.
hyprocrisy, for duh!
Submitted by lrgon on Sat, 06/16/2012 - 7:56pm.
"This isn't controlling speech, it's enforcing dignity "
Dignity? civility, oh come on cobraman. Just as soon as someone disagrees with you you pull out your xenophobia game. You label and use personal attacks.
Xenophobia? Speaking of hypocrisy.
Submitted by CobraMan on Sun, 06/17/2012 - 2:52pm.
"You label and use personal attacks.
Xenophobia? Really? And what foreign species, or human, or stranger, for that matter, am I afraid of?
I'm not attacking anyone, unless you consider arguing with someone as a personal attack.
Show me where I labeled you and personally attacked you, as you just did to me.
The Citizens of each State shall be entitled to all Privileges and Immunities of Citizens in the several States. The US Constitution
Unless you're a fetus. The US Supreme Court
Or Anwar al-Awlaki.
Well..actually...
Submitted by ckc1227 on Sun, 06/17/2012 - 1:23pm.
"This isn't controlling speech, it's enforcing dignity and civil rights. HBO doesn't have the right, legally, to use a likeness of Bush in this manner. They need his permission for that. Bush is a living human being. His image belongs to him, and him alone. No one has the right to copy it and display it without his permission, especially for a commercial endeavor like a pay-for-service cable tv series. Never mind the fact that it was totally inappropriate, and down right insulting."
Good luck with that, lol. There's this little thing known as the First Amendment that does allow such use, like it or not, and even more so because it's a former president of the U.S. that we're talking about.
Why do you think HBO is pulling the head from any further releases? They know they're legally liable. If they weren't they wouldn't be pulling it. They would be using the controversy as a free promotional gimmick.
The same reason every other corporation caves in situations like this.....they're afraid they will lose money if they don't. It has nothing to do with legal liability, because there is none.
They're not stupid, you know.
You're right, they AREN'T stupid. That's why they're pulling a controversial scene and not using it as a promotional gimmick that might cost them sales as opposed to generating them. I would say their response to the protest is a free promotional gimmick. Heck, that might have been their intent all along.
Good luck in Court.
Submitted by CobraMan on Sun, 06/17/2012 - 2:44pm.
"Good luck with that, lol. There's this little thing known as the First Amendment that does allow such use, like it or not, and even more so because it's a former president of the U.S. that we're talking about."
I hope you never have to face a situation where you violate someone's Right of Publicity in any State that has laws which protects it. You probably won't do very well. Don't forget, even the Constitution warns us that "The enumeration in the Constitution, of certain rights, shall not be construed to deny or disparage others retained by the people."
The Citizens of each State shall be entitled to all Privileges and Immunities of Citizens in the several States. The US Constitution
Unless you're a fetus. The US Supreme Court
Or Anwar al-Awlaki.
I agree
Submitted by Bliggie on Sat, 06/16/2012 - 12:20pm.
Let the liberals spew their hatred and garbage, especially the sawed off woman beater bill maher. That way we know how insane and brain washed they are. Let them say or do whatever they like, it is still disgraceful and the American people are smart enough to see it. People watch shows like this to be entertained, if they wanted cheap politics they would watch maher.
It wasn't about control
Submitted by Michael30 on Sun, 06/17/2012 - 5:32am.
This wasn't censorship or anything to do with free speech. Nobody was imprisoned or assaulted by government secret police.
A couple of guys wanted to do something akin to being a jackass, and other people voiced disgust at this, and a private company made a business decision.
If they had said it was a political statement, that would be one thing (albeit tasteless and a tad bit behind the times,) but they went with the thing about having only a few heads laying around as props.
We all have freedom of expression, but all actions have consequences. I am free to say horrible racist crap on this site, but those who operate it can take down my post and ban me. I won't do time in prison for it, but that doesn't mean I must be listened to by everyone. I have the right to bear arms, that doesn't mean I can go all Godfather on people that annoy me.
It's all really very simple, company crunched the numbers and knows it's not going to lose any sales by pulling the offending scene, and in fact the whole affair draws more attention to the show. No fan of a show like this is going to stop because of this decision, liberals who like it will still watch, saying under breath that The Man made them change it, and conservatives who watch will say they did the right thing by pulling it. It's a win win for the company. Meanwhile, the individuals who did this on purpose will all laugh because now we all know what they did, whereas six months ago, nobody had any idea until they told us on the commentary.
-Mike
Doesnt matter now,,
Submitted by NJRightWinger12 on Sat, 06/16/2012 - 12:24pm.
the damage is done! And yes, GoT is just one more crap HBO show that will never see the light of day on my telly!
I appreciate the update as well
Submitted by Lipton on Sat, 06/16/2012 - 12:41pm.
as much as I truly detest the current occupant of the Oval Office I can't imagine suggesting such an image with his face on it. Whoever had this idea to do this seems pretty disturbed to me.
Not Fired!
Submitted by vote24 on Sat, 06/16/2012 - 12:48pm.
All involved should be fired. But of course this is great publicity for their little program, and they will be quietly hailed as heroes by the wango-tangos who were craving that image. The fact that they are still passing this off as an accident, is pretty rediculous. First imagine how many hands and eyes this production went through, then imagine all off them laughing the whole time. How clever. I say, as long as they put Obama's head on stake, and burn it in the next episode. Then I guess it's ok.
I was thinking the exact same thing.
Submitted by SickofLibs on Sat, 06/16/2012 - 12:52pm.
There had to be AT LEAST dozens of people who thought this was cool, from the lowliest prop assistant all the way up to the executive producer.
Then again, this is the "network" that facilitates the scummiest scumbag of all time, Bill Maher.
The tasteless meter is redlining
Submitted by dbo on Sat, 06/16/2012 - 1:00pm.
Not to be outdone Martin Bashir thinks it's funny to splice in images of Romney's bus exploding.
One more reason not to pay for HBO
Submitted by Now_I_Want_Change on Sat, 06/16/2012 - 2:48pm.
As if Bill Maher wasn't enough of a reason already!
"Huh, what? What did Saddam have to do with 9-11? " - Bush
Submitted by lrgon on Sat, 06/16/2012 - 8:13pm.
"Well, nothing."
So for "nothing" George Dubya Bush put Saddam Hussein's head on a pike.
They are "friends one decade and the next decade they are enemies.
Bush had a reputation of never having read a history book didn't realize that Saddam was Donald Rumsfeld's friend whom he met when Rumsfeld was a emmisary to Iraq sent there by Ronald Reagan on mission to hand the dictator of Bagdad a hand written note by RR assuring Saddam of his continued support for his regime. http://www.commondreams.org/views02/0802-01.htm
So states common dreams:
"Rumsfeld December 19-20, 1983 visit to Baghdad made him the highest-ranking US official to visit Iraq in 6 years. He met Saddam and the two discussed topics of mutual interest, according to the Iraqi Foreign Ministry.
Just 12 days after the meeting, on January 1, 1984, The Washington Post reported that the United States in a shift in policy, has informed friendly Persian Gulf nations that the defeat of Iraq in the 3-year-old war with Iran would be contrary to U.S. interests and has made several moves to prevent that result."
Tells us about Tower 7
Submitted by ckc1227 on Sun, 06/17/2012 - 1:29pm.
What was Bush trying to hide when he blew it up?
It wasn't Bush, ckc.....
Submitted by NC Cop on Mon, 06/18/2012 - 2:25pm.
It was the evil Zionists who blew up Tower 7!!!
Try to keep your Dr. Evil's straight, will ya?
lrgon,November 4, 1979, the day Iran declared war on America.
Submitted by upcountrywater on Sun, 06/17/2012 - 2:44pm.
Hello,
When did iran surrender???????????...
You Didn't Build That.
Hmmm........
Submitted by helomech on Mon, 06/18/2012 - 10:54pm.
Let's see them do that with a likeness to 0, Al, Jesse or whatever inflammatory black leader of today. Oh the humanity of it all, we'd never hear the end of it. Or, they would simply call it 'art'.