LA, CA – Reports have surfaced indicating that the dramatic increase in the number of assholes nationwide is a direct result of the success of HBO’s hit series ‘Game of Thrones’. Local ‘Thrones’ fan and recently-selfish prick, Justin Moore, says that, “I used to try to be a good person and do the right thing, because I thought it would pay off. But after seeing all the shit that happens to the honorable Stark family, I gotta say being a totally self-interested asshole and still getting exactly what I want is working out pretty well for me.” Donna Gunderson, professor of psychology at the University of Southern California, believes that the show’s gritty realism and unrelenting focus on fucking over good characters is to blame. “Most fans of the series grew up watching classic Disney films that have a happy ending. [‘Game of Thrones’] has made a lot of these viewers truly understand for the first time that the world is a cold, brutal, unforgiving place where misogyny, selfishness, and manipulation are the building blocks of success.” After being initially silent on the subject, show-runners DB Weiss and David Benoiff have released their official statement to the press, which simply says, “Fuck off, we’re rich”.