Who picks Razzie nominees? Drew Barrymore fumes as Ryan Kiera Armstrong, 12, nominated for Worst Actress
LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA: The Golden Raspberry Awards, better known as the Razzies, recently came under heavy fire for nominating a 12-year-old actress for worst actress. Ryan Kiera Armstrong was nominated for her role as Charlie McGee in 'Firestarter,' originally played by none other than Drew Barrymore. The actress expressed her disappointment in the 12-year-old's nomination and disparaged the Razzies on her latest episode of 'The Drew Barrymore Show.'
The 47-year-old actress didn't hold anything back when talking about Ryan Kiera Armstrong. On the latest episode of 'The Drew Barrymore Show,' Barrymore said, "Well, this makes my blood boil. It's an awards show that started in 1980 as a spoof award show, kind of like the Oscars but the insulting version. And listen, I get poking fun at ourselves, I mean come on fair game bring it on, but Ryan is 12-years-old." Barrymore ten explained that the issue had been fixed. She added, "Apparently they've actually nominated a few children before but they didn't get caught and this time they did. The truth is, in 1980 an industry insider small awards ceremony without the power of social media was like a, 'Bring it on we can all handle it'. But now it's sort of like another way to publicly allow others to shame them and ridicule them with platforms that maybe they couldn't have anticipated back in the day."
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Armstrong was seen alongside Zac Effron, who plays Andy McGee. Effron has yet to comment on the recent controversy surrounding the young talent. According to the actress, "But now they know. So I would just say to them, 'Please don't do this to people who are younger. That's not nice. And I really like Ryan, and as Firestarter! Don't do this again." Other actors mentioned in the Razzies are Sandra Bullock, Halle Berry, Brad Pitt, Eddie Redmayne, Al Pacino and more.
Who picks Razzie nominations?
A rough assembly of about 1,000 members, including moviegoers and film industry employees, selects what they think is the most awful thing cinema has to offer. Co-founded by UCLA film graduates and film industry veterans John JB Wilson and Mo Murphy, the award honors the worst films. There is no special panel of respected film critics that decides the nominations.
Razzies owner issues apology
News that a 12-year-old actress was nominated for Worst Actress at the Razzies was shared by Variety. John J Wilson was quick to respond, clarifying that actresses under 18 are not eligible for the awards. Wilson apologized, saying, "Sometimes, you do things without thinking, Then you are called out for it. Then you get it. It’s why the Razzies were created in the first place. 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 continued "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 film-maker under 18 years of age from being considered for our awards. We have never intended to bury anyone’s career. It is why our Redeemer Award was created. We all make mistakes, very much us included. Since our motto is “Own Your Bad,” we realize that we ourselves must also live up to it. Sincerely, John Wilson, The Razzie Awards."