The Golden Razzie Awards — known as “Razzies” — got called out on social media for nominating Ryan Kiera Armstrong, a 12-year-old girl, in the “worst actress” category.
The film is a new take on the Steven King novel Firestarter, originally made into a Hollywood film in 1984 starring a young Drew Barrymore and David Keith. That plot included a couple who participated in a secret government medical experiment gaining telepathic ability and then having a child who is pyrokinetic start fires at will.
The 2022 reimagining is far darker with 12-year-old “Charlie,” played by Armstrong, looking for an explanation of why she has this pyrokinetic power. She even unleashes a fireball on her mother. The cheesy special effects and the awful script didn’t help the kid’s performance, that’s for sure.
But nominating a 12-year-old kid for an award that was bound to hurt her feelings lit up social media so much that the Razzies issued a public apology to Armstrong for singling out a young girl for mockery — even though the whole thing is tongue in cheek.
The Razzies nominating Ryan Kiera Armstrong for "Worst Actress" is so completely ignorant and cynical I can't wrap my head around it. They have no clue what this can do to a child actress who probably considered her starring role in FIRESTARTER as a high point in her life. (1/7)
— Brandon Hardesty (@Brandon_Hrdesty) January 24, 2023
The Golden Raspberry Awards is no stranger to criticism, but this years decision to nominate 12 year old Ryan Kiera Armstrong for Worst Actress goes one step further, with the move being labelled bullying and stripping the joke of its wit.#Razzies #razzieawards https://t.co/yKzSDFKlfc
— Guy Lambert (@GuyBertie) January 23, 2023
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
The other actors on that list are more than deserving of lifetime achievement awards from the Razzies, but Ms. Armstrong, God bless her, would be wearing that award through the rest of her professional life. Perhaps recognizing that, Razzies’ co-founder John Wilson released a statement Wednesday apologizing to Armstrong and calling the criticisms “valid.”
The backlash “brought our attention to how insensitive we’ve been in this instance,” Wilson said in a statement obtained by USA TODAY. “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.”
Wilson added that going forward, actors and filmmakers under age 18 will no longer be considered for “awards.”
“We have never intended to bury anyone’s career,” Wilson said. “We all make mistakes, very much us included.”
Just as an aside, Home Alone’s Macaulay Culkin was nominated for three Razzies in 1995. Mr. Caulkin had a pithy response to the withdrawal of Armstrong’s nomination.
Macaulay Culkin on the Razzie Awards revoking “AHS” co-star Ryan Kiera Armstrong’s nomination: “I guess it was much easier to make fun of kids back in 1995…”
Culkin was nominated for Worst Actor in 1995 for three separate films, when he was just 14 years old. pic.twitter.com/d9oKKnPvmd
— The AHS Zone (@ahszone) January 26, 2023
Miss Armstrong has been in the business for a while. She knows how the world works and that there are ecstatic moments of triumph and moments of utter desolation in show business. No actor has ever been spared this rollercoaster of emotion.
Consider some of the actors who also received Razzies: the hugely successful Adam Sandler won the award five times; two-time Oscar winner Ben Affleck won four Razzies.
If Armstrong is going to survive in show business, she’s going to need to learn to deal with disappointments like this. But this wasn’t about protecting little Miss Armstrong; it was about internet clowns showing everyone how much they really, really, care that a small child was so badly abused.
God, I hate Twitter.
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