'We Regret Any Harm She Suffered': Razzies Apologises To Child Actor Ryan Kiera Armstrong For Nomination
John Wilson, the founder of the Razzie Awards, has apologised to 12-year-old Ryan Kiera Armstrong for nominating her in the Worst Actress category.
John Wilson, the founder of the Razzie Awards, has apologised to 12-year-old Ryan Kiera Armstrong for nominating her for "Worst Actress" for her performance in last year's film Firestarter. He also stated that actors under the age of 18 would no longer be considered for nominations. The organisation, which annually nominates the worst in film, was chastised by film fans and former and current child actors for bullying a young actor.
The Razzies announced their list of the "worst" films and performances of 2022 on Sunday. Blonde, starring Ana de Armas, received the most nominations, with eight. Ryan was nominated alongside Alicia Silverstone for The Requin, Bryce Dallas Howard for Jurassic World Dominion, Diane Keaton for Mack & Rita, and Kaya Scodelario for The King's Daughter for her role in Stephen King's novel.
Following that, Twitter was flooded with tweets condemning the organisation for targeting a young actor. "The razzies are already mean-spirited and classless, but to nominate a kid is just repulsive and wrong," wrote Julian Hilliard, who acted in Disney's WandaVision and Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness. 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
"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," Razzie founder John said in a statement. "As a result, Armstrong's name has been removed from the Final Ballot, which our members will cast next month. We also believe Ms Armstrong is due a public apology, and we regret any harm she has suffered as a result of our decisions."
"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," he added further.
"Since our motto is 'Own Your Bad,' we realise that we ourselves must also live up to it," John concluded in his letter. The winners of the 43rd Academy Awards will be announced on March 11, one day before the Oscars.
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