Internet roast of King Joffrey lets 'Game of Thrones' fans lash out

Dec. 12 (UPI) -- Fans of HBO’s Game of Thrones are being asked to burn the villain they most love to hate, King Joffrey, during the first-ever Internet roast.

According to a site promoting the social media campaign, "Payback's a Wench."

“All roast the King. Lend us your tongues, taunts and tweets for the first social media roast of the ‘beloved’ King Joffrey. Share your roasts about the King using #RoastJoffrey.”

Agency 360i, who helped devise the campaign, culled Internet data and discovered that Joffrey Baratheon is the most-hated villain on social media. Already despised, last season’s shocking "Red Wedding" episode took the hatred of the young king to another level.

The vice president of digital and social media at HBO, Sabrina Calouri, said that episode generated more Twitter conversations than any of the network's other programs. "That really cemented Game of Thrones in the cultural zeitgeist, so we were looking for ways to engage fans in the off-season," she told Advertising Age. "We tasked 360i to think of unique ways that weren't tied to the plotline that could continue to make noise with our fans."

The Internet roast should capitalize on all that negativity.

"We thought about what we could do that would put fans at the core of participation -- with this idea, we immediately knew we had something," said 360i Chief Creative Officer Adam Kerj. "There are so many hardcore fans, there's social spread built into the idea."

The actor who plays the hated King Joffrey, Jack Gleeson, declined to participate in the event.

[AdvertisingAge] [Roast Joffrey]