Razzies apologize to ‘Firestarter’ star Ryan Kiera Armstrong for Nom

The Razzie Awards have their own poor judgment.

Following the nomination of 11-year-old “Firestarter” star Ryan Kiera Armstrong in the Worst Actress category, Razzie co-founder John Wilson issued a statement withdrawing the nomination and apologizing to Armstrong.

“Sometimes you do things without thinking, then you’re called to do it,” Wilson said. “Then you get it. This is why the Razzies were created in the first place. Recent legitimate criticism of the choice of 11-year-old Armstrong as a nominee for one of our awards has drawn our attention to how insensitive we have been in the matter. As a result, we have removed Armstrong’s name from the final ballot that our members will cast next month.”

Wilson added: “We also believe that Ms Armstrong is owed a public apology and would like to say that we regret any injuries she has suffered as a result of our decisions. Having learned this lesson, we would also like to announce that from this date we are adopting a voting policy that will preclude any artist or filmmaker under the age of 18 from being considered for our awards.”

The Razzie Awards statement concluded: “We never intended to bury anyone’s career. That’s why our Redeemer Award was created. We all make mistakes, including ourselves. Since our motto is ‘Own Your Bad’, we know that we have to live up to it ourselves.”

Armstrong was credited for the dishonorable title under actresses Bryce Dallas Howard (Jurassic Park: Dominion), Diane Keaton (Mack & Rita), Kaya Scodelario (The King’s Daughter), and Alicia Silverstone (The Requin). . Dubbed the “anti-Oscars,” Razzie’s nominations were announced 24 hours before the nominees for the 95th Academy Awards were revealed.

Armstrong starred opposite Zac Efron in the second adaptation of Stephen King’s 1980 novel about a young girl with pyrokinetic powers. The film flopped in theaters and on Peacock and received poor reviews. Armstrong played the same role that Drew Barrymore played on screen in the 1984 film.

The backlash over Armstrong’s Razzie nomination has been led by other child stars such as Devon Sawa and WandaVision actor Julian Hilliard.

“The raids are being conducted by soulless people. Nominate a 12 year old? Fuck her,” Sawa wrote in a since-deleted tweet. “This kid could become amazing if you don’t put yourself in his head.”

hilliard tweeted, “The Razzies are mean and classless, but nominating a child is just gross and wrong. Why put a child at increased risk of bullying or worse? be better [It’s not a joke] when it comes to a child. This “joke” can have very negative effects. You have crossed a line.”

The Razzies nominated child star Jake Lloyd for Star Wars: Episode I The Phantom Menace in 1999, and Macaulay Culkin received three Razzie nominations for Getting Even With Dad, The Pagemaster, and Richie Rich. in 1995.

Razzie co-founder Wilson recently told BuzzFeed News that the “anger” surrounding Armstrong’s nomination was “overdone.”

“I can understand how it could be taken that way [as mean]. I don’t think it was meant that way,” Wilson said. “There’s a righteousness to it. It’s the Razzie Awards, for heaven’s sake!”

He added: “The intent was to be funny. In this particular case, we seem to have made a big mistake. I would admit that.”

The Razzie Awards have canceled bogus awards to Bruce Willis and Shelley Duvall in recent years.

Registration: Stay up to date on the latest movie and TV news! Sign up for our email newsletter here.