The Razzie Awards have pulled their nomination of Firestarter's child star Ryan Kiera Armstrong for Worst Actress.
The nomination of 12-year-old Armstrong was revealed on January 23 and very quickly received condemnation from fans for opening up a child to bullying. Her fellow young performer Julian Hillard, best known for playing Billy Maximoff in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, also condemned the nomination for its potential to lead to bullying and called the awards ceremony "classless." Per Variety, Razzies founder John Wilson issued an apology, rescinded Armstrong's nomination and stated that going forward, no one under 18 would be eligible to be nominated in the ceremony.
"Sometimes, you do things without thinking. Then you are called out for it," Wilson wrote in a statement. "Then you get it. It's why the Razzies were created in the first place. The recent valid criticism of the choice of 11-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 Razzies Controversies Over the Years
Beginning in 1981, the Razzies have acted as a counter to the Academy Awards, "honoring" the worst in filmmaking from the previous year. The ceremonies have been no stranger to controversy, most recently hosting a category for "Worst Performance by Bruce Willis" and then rescinding it after the actor's aphasia diagnosis was made public. The Razzies also recently retracted its 1980 Worst Actress nomination of Shelly Duval for The Shining due to revelations of her abusive treatment by director Stanley Kubrick.
Firestarter Adaptation Panned By Critics
Based on the novel by Stephen King that was previously adapted in 1984, Firestarter was released in May 2022 and panned by critics. It still holds a Razzie nomination for Worst Remake, Rip-Off or Sequel. Movies nominated for Worst Picture include Blonde (which also netted an Oscar nomination for Best Actress), Good Mourning, The King's Daughter, Morbius and Disney's live-action remake of Pinocchio.
The 43rd Golden Raspberry Awards will be held on March 11. Firestarter is available to stream on Peacock.
Source: Variety