
The Golden Raspberry Awards, also known as the Razzies, have come under fire after 12-year-old Firestarter actor Ryan Kiera Armstrong was nominated for a worst actress award.
The Razzies are a parody awards organisation that celebrates the worst film achievements of the previous year in a bid to deflate Hollywood egos boosted by the ongoing awards season.
It’s common practise for them to make fun of Hollywood legends, as they did on January 23 when they announced Tom Hanks and Jared Leto would both be nominated for the 43rd Razzie Awards, which are held the day before the Oscars.
However, Ryan, an actress who was nominated for a Razzie at the age of 12, was also on the shortlist.
Celebrity interviewer Sarah O’Connell took to Twitter and wrote: ‘Having friends who used to be child actors and knowing the struggles they went through, it’s very NOT ok that the Razzies nominated a 12-year-old actress (who incidentally was great in the movie).’
Another critic said: ‘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.’
Meanwhile, Mindhunter and A Man Called Otto star Cameron Britton shared some encouraging comments on Ryan’s recent Instagram post promoting Firestarter.
‘I just want to say that taking risks and pursuing art when you want to is what life is all about, and when people you don’t even know try to degrade you, they are only degrading themselves, because their problems have nothing to do with you- it’s them and where they are at,’ he said.
‘Let them pass by and take care young lady! Thanks for choosing to do what you want, always use your gift to choose!’
However, this is not the first time the awards programme has nominated a child actor; Brooke Shields was nominated in 1981, and Jake Lloyd, who was just eight when he played Anakin Skywalker, was nominated in 2000.
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Jake later admitted that he went into ‘early retirement’ from acting at the age of 12 after experiencing a ‘living nightmare’ for his role in Star Wars: The Phantom Menace.
This year’s Razzies also named Blonde, Pinocchio, and Machine Gun Kelly’s flicks Good Mourning and Morbius as contenders for ‘worst film’ in 2022.
Although Keith Thomas’ sci-fi horror Firestarter earned mostly negative reviews, rating only 10% on Rotten Tomatoes, the criticism has not been directed at the performers, one of whom is Zac Efron, but at the film’s’maddeningly tension-free chase story,’ as the Guardian put it.
Ryan also co-starred with Nicolas Cage in the 2023 film The Old Way, which was released on January 13.
Firestarter is currently available to watch for free on Sky Go and Cinema.