This week, it wasn’t all Oscar news. One day before the films nominated for the best of the year were announced, we found out which titles aspired to obtain the statuette of the worst of the worst. Last Monday, the Razzie Awards (popular award that annually recognizes the “bad” Hollywood films, instead of the most outstanding ones) revealed their candidates for the 2023 edition, and although it is already common for them to generate controversy, now the reproaches were more serious before the decision to apply to the 12-year-old actor Ryan Kiera Armstrong in the Worst Actress category.
Armstrong’s nomination was due to the remake flames of revenge, where he shared credits with Zac Efron, in the role of a girl with pyrokinesis. And certainly the tape was very poorly received by the public and critics, which explains why it is a finalist in the category of Worst remake/rip-off/sequel. However, the fact that a minor actor became a candidate for these controversial awards was what caused a wave of disagreement on social networks.
“The Razzies are already mean and classless, but nominating a child is just repulsive and wrong. Why put a child at risk of further bullying or worse? Be better,” wrote the young actor Julian Hilliard (WandaVision) On twitter. «[No es una broma] when it comes to a child. That ‘joke’ can have a very negative impact. They crossed a line.”
After the barrage of negative reactions, the Razzie Awards finally decided to eliminate the candidacy of Ryan Kiera Armstrong. This was announced through a statement, where they also apologized to the young actor and promised not to nominate anyone under the age of 18 in any of her categories again.
You might also be interested in: Flames of Vengeance – Movie Review
Read the full Razzie Awards statement below, signed by john wilsonfounder of these anti-awards from the world of cinema (via Variety):
Sometimes, you do things without thinking, then you get called out for it and then you understand it. That’s why the Razzies were created in the first place.
Recent and Valid Criticisms of Armstrong’s Election [de 12 años] as a nominee for one of our awards have made us realize how insensitive we have been in this case. Accordingly, we have withdrawn Armstrong’s name from the final ballot our members will cast next month. We also believe that Armstrong is owed a public apology, and we want to tell her that we are sorry for any harm she may have suffered as a result of our decisions.
Having learned this lesson, we would also like to announce that, as of this time, we are adopting a voting guideline that prevents any artist or filmmaker under the age of 18 from being considered for our awards.
We have never tried to bury anyone’s career. That’s why our Redeemer Award was created. We all make mistakes, including many of us.
Since our motto is ‘Admit your faults’, we are aware that we ourselves must also live up to it.
You might also be interested in: Razzie Awards: The story of some irreverent awards
Winners of the 2023 Razzie Awards will be announced on March 11, 2023; one day before the 95th Academy Awards. This year the movie Blonde Andrew Dominik leads the nominations with eight nominations, including Worst Picture. However, it should be remembered that that same film earned Ana de Armas her first Oscar nomination for Best Actress.
Antonio G. Spindola I have very bad memory. Out of solidarity with my memories, I choose to lose myself too. Preferably in a movie theater.
