'Game of Thrones' meme subreddit thanks Emilia Clarke by raising $130K for charity (2024)

The show might be over, but Game of Thrones fans thanked their favorite actors for their performances by raising over £100,000 — about $130,000 — for Emilia Clarke's SameYou, a charity that aids rehabilitation for brain injury patients.

The fandom wasn't quiet about their disappointment in the show's final season — the subreddit r/freefolk dominated Reddit's front page with memes mocking the finale's plot holes and feel-good ending.

Disgruntled fans from r/freefolk started a petition to "remake season 8 with competent writers," which has gained over 1.6 million signatures. The show's cast members responded to the petition by calling it "disrespectful."

While r/freefolk is known for its more cynical takes on the show, many in the community acknowledged that the actors and crew had nothing to do with Game of Thrones' questionable writing. Reddit user elle_ellaria called on the group to "collectively do something nice" for Emilia Clarke, who played Daenerys, by raising money for SameYou. Clarke founded SameYou after suffering two life-threatening aneurysms while filming the early seasons of Game of Thrones.

"It's clear she loved Dany so much," elle_ellaria said in a r/freefolk post on May 22. "I want her to know we loved her too and we're so thankful for her portrayal."

On the fundraising page, elle_ellaria wrote that despite the petition to remake the final season, fans knew the cast and crew had done incredible work "despite their constraints."

"Any disappointment we felt with the conclusion of the series was not in them, but in the potential that was lost due to the rushed pace of storytelling," they said, calling the fundraiser for SameYou a "gesture of love and support from the fandom to the entire cast and crew."

As the fundraiser began gaining traction, Clarke responded through a video from SameYou's Twitter account.

"It's extraordinary what you guys have done," she gushed. "You've given me a wrap gift ... The Mother of Dragons would be so incredibly proud of the generosity of spirit that you guys have shown me. For the fifteenth time, thank you!"

Tweet may have been deleted

When the fundraiser passed its £100,000 goal, she responded again with a video lip syncing to Tina Turner's "Simply the Best."

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Since surpassing the goal on Jun. 6, r/freefolk has started raising money for other charities Game of Thrones cast members represent. When Kit Harington checked himself into rehab, the subreddit started a fundraising campaign for Mencap, a charity that assists people with learning disabilities live more independently.

"Kit Harington has given so much to the fans of Game of Thrones over the past decade playing King in the North, Jon Snow," the JustGiving page says. "This fundraiser is here to show Kit that we're incredibly thankful to him for the sheer amount of love and skill he put into Jon Snow for us to enjoy."

The campaign has raised £43,100, about $55,000, in just nine days.

r/freefolk isn't stopping there. Under the hashtag #GoTtoGive, the fans are pushing HBO and other companies affiliated with the show to match donations. The outpouring of donations also inspired users to raise awareness for charities that other cast members are involved with, like the International Rescue Committee and Women for Women International.

The subreddit's comments were incredibly heartwarming.

Some members of r/freefolk couldn't help but gloat over Clarke's responses to the fundraising effort.

The fundraiser for SameYou has since raised £106,612 from 5,815 donors, or about $135,823. Elle_ellaria has raised the goal to £125,000.

It's proof that even the most cynical spaces on the internet can be wholesome.