Fake Head of George Bush in 'Game of Thrones' Sparks Ire
It seems some members of the Republican Party aren't fans of the Lannisters, either.
Members of the GOP are fuming and HBO has issued an apology after realizing that the creators of "Game of Thrones" used a faux severed replica of former President George W. Bush's head mounted on a stake in a number of scenes in the hit series.
The fake head, which series creators David Benioff and D.B. Weiss reveal in the show's DVD commentary to be a replica of George W. Bush's head, is seen in the final episode of the first season.
"People may not have noticed this but … the last head on the left is George Bush," Benioff and Weiss explain on the DVD commentary track. "George Bush's head appears in a couple of beheading scenes."
In the scene, the teenage King Joffrey Baratheon, then under the influence of his wicked mother Cersei Lannister after they've seized the throne, shows Sansa Stark a row of heads of traitors to his cause, which have been mounted on pikes.
One of the heads belongs to the girl's father, Ned Stark. And sitting right there alongside him, donning a long brown wig, is the head of the former president.
"It's not a choice. It's not a political statement. It's just…we had to use what heads we had lying around," Benioff and Weiss added.
The scene has upset members of the GOP, including Craig Eaton, chairman of the Brooklyn Republican Party, who told the MailOnline that he thinks "it's despicable."
"As a country, Democrats, Republicans, we have to have respect for the office and the individuals. Once we lose that respect, the United States looks weak," he said.
HBO rushed to release a statement late Wednesday upon learning the news, calling the use of the Bush bust "unacceptable, disrespectful and in very bad taste."
"We made this clear to the executive producers of the series who apologized immediately for this inadvertent careless mistake."
The network said, adding, "Sorry this happened and will have it [the scene] removed from any future DVD production."