Following the stark backlash, The Razzies apologized after nominating Firestarter’s 12-year-old star Ryan Kiera Armstrong for Worst Actress. Nominations for the 2023 Razzies have been launched on January 22 and shortly triggered a stir when 12-year-old Armstrong was among the many nominees for Worst Actress for her function as Charlie in Firestarter. Alicia Silverstone, Bryce Dallas Howard, Diane Keaton, and Kaya Scoderlario have been additionally nominated for the award, however Armstrong stood out as the one baby. Many celebrities, together with Julian Hillard, Devon Sawa, and Joe Russo, slammed the Razzies as “soulless” and “mean-spirited” for nominating a baby. The Razzies have all the time been controversial for his or her tendency to insult and denigrate the work of others, however many felt it was particularly merciless to focus on a baby.
As reported by Variety, the Razzies has issued an apology following the backlash it obtained for the nomination of Armstrong for Worst Actress. The apology got here from Razzies founder John Wilson and confirmed that Armstrong’s nomination had been withdrawn following the “valid criticism” the group had obtained. Wilson additionally revealed that the Razzies was adopting a “Voting Guideline” that prohibits the group from nominating anybody beneath 18. Check out the assertion beneath:
While it’s lucky that the Razzies try to rectify the state of affairs, their age restrict for nominations comes far too late. Armstrong is one in all 4 baby stars nominated for a Razzie through the years. Gary Coleman was nominated for Worst Actor at age 14 in 1982, whereas Macaulay Culkin (additionally 14) was nominated 3 times in 1995. Lastly, Jake Lloyd was solely 11 when he was nominated for Worst Actor for Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace. Lloyd later give up appearing as a result of intense bullying he obtained for The Phantom Menace. At the identical time, Culkin later opened up about being exploited and abused by his dad and mom throughout his childhood appearing profession. After these unlucky circumstances, it’s unclear why the Razzies didn’t rethink nominating baby actors who’re notably susceptible within the business.
Meanwhile, an age restrict will not cease circumstances like these from arising. The Razzies additionally obtained intense backlash and scrutiny in 2022 for making a class known as Worst Bruce Willis Performance in a 2021 Movie. Not lengthy after the class was created, Willis’ household revealed that the actor was retiring because of being identified with aphasia. The group shocked critics when it initially defended protecting the Willis class even after it was revealed he was affected by a medical situation throughout these 2021 performances. Only after intense backlash did the group determine to withdraw the class. They additionally determined to lastly retract Shelley Duvall’s 1980 Worst Actress nomination after it got here to mild that the actress had been handled terribly by director Stanley Kubrick throughout filming.
Willis and Duvall are examples of how the Razzies can nonetheless backfire even when they’ve an age restrict in place. The group targets and insults actors with out contemplating the context. A poor efficiency from an actor shouldn’t be all the time a mirrored image of appearing talent. There are quite a few elements to contemplate, similar to well being, private circumstances, miscasting, and poisonous work environments. Many elements out of an actor’s management can probably result in poor efficiency. Additionally, lots of Razzies’ nominees are unfairly nominated just because the movie they starred in was poorly made and framed their performances badly. The Razzies will not be fastened till they take all elements, not simply age, into consideration of their nominations.