Razzie Awards faces backlash for nominating 12-year-old girl for 'Worst Actress' of 2022
The Golden Raspberry Awards (Razzies), a parody show that aims to "honor" the worst of the worst in the film industry, is bearing the brunt of public outrage after it nominated a 12-year-old girl for "Worst Actress" of 2022.
The actress in question is Ryan Kiera Armstrong, having been nominated for her role in the film adaptation of Stephen King's science fiction horror Firestarter. Other actresses who were nominated are Bryce Dallas Howard for Jurassic Park: Dominion, Diane Keaton for Mack & Rita, Kaya Scodelario for The King’s Daughter, and Alicia Silverstone for The Requin.
Of the five of them, Armstrong clearly stood out for being a child. Because of this, many lost their temper at the awards show for having included her among the elder nominees, who have a better understanding of its satirical nature.
Actor Julian Hilliard wrote on Twitter, "The Razzies are already mean-spirited and classless, but to nominate a kid is just repulsive and wrong. Why put a kid at risk of increased bullying or worse? Be better."
The razzies are already mean-spirited & classless, but to nominate a kid is just repulsive & wrong. Why put a kid at risk of increased bullying or worse? Be better.
— Julian Hilliard (@_JulianHilliard) January 23, 2023
Another user similarly shared Hilliard's sentiments, writing, "Maybe it's just me but nominating a 12 year old girl for anything 'worst' feels straight-up bullying to me. Then again, I never expected any class from this awful organization. No idea why they still exist."
Maybe it's just me but nominating 12 year old girl for anything "worst" feels straight-up bullying to me. Then again, I never expected any class from this awful organization. No idea why they still exist. #razzies #razzieawards pic.twitter.com/gK3udA6A4G
— Jack | The Reel Talk | 🍿 (@TheReelTalk) January 22, 2023
Others commented, "The Razzies have sunk to a new low by nominating an eleven-year-old girl—whose performance I actually dug. If you’re gonna continue denigrating people’s hard work—which you shouldn’t—at least target adults."
Following the backlash, the Razzies has removed Armstrong from the list. Its founder John Wilson has also issued a statement of apology towards the actress, which was obtained by Variety.
"The recent valid criticism of the choice of 12-year-old Armstrong as a nominee for one of our awards brought our attention to how insensitive we’ve been in this instance. As a result, we have removed Armstrong’s name from the Final Ballot that our members will cast next month. We also believe a public apology is owed Ms. Armstrong, and wish to say we regret any hurt she experienced as a result of our choices," the statement read.
Wilson also revealed that from now on, anyone under the age of 18 is ineligible to be nominated for their "worst" award titles.
"Having learned from this lesson, we would also like to announce that, from this point forward, we are adopting a Voting Guideline precluding any performer or filmmaker under 18 years of age from being considered for our awards," the statement read.
The first Golden Raspberry Awards ceremony was held on March 31, 1981. It has awarded the likes of Leonardo DiCaprio, Sandra Bullock, and Jared Leto.