Entertainment
Razzies slammed for nominating 12-year-old Ryan Kiera Armstrong for worst actress award-Kitty Chrisp-Entertainment – Metro
Too far.
Ryan Kiera Armstrong, who plays Charlie in Firestarter, is only 12 (Picture: Ken Woroner/Universal Studios)
The Golden Raspberry Awards, aka the Razzies, have faced backlash after 12-year-old Firestarter star Ryan Kiera Armstrong was shortlisted to receive a worst actress award.
Parody awards organisation the Razzies celebrate what it deems to be the worst cinematic achievements of the past year, in an attempt to deflate Hollywood egos bolstered by the ongoing awards season.
It’s standard practice to poke fun at Hollywood greats, as they did on January 23 when they announced Tom Hanks and Jared Leto would both be up for nominations for the 43rd Razzie Awards, held the day before Oscars.
But also on the shortlist was actress Ryan, who at age 12 has prompted many to call out the Razzies for hitting a ‘new low’.
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.’
This isn’t the first time the Razzies have nominated a child actor (Picture: Paul Archuleta/Getty Images)
Meanwhile on Instagram, Mindhunter and A Man Called Otto star Cameron Britton commented on Ryan’s recent post promoting Firestarter with some comforting words.
‘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!’
But it’s not the first time the awards show has nominated a child actor, as 1981 saw Brooke Shields nominated, and later Jake Lloyd, who was only eight when he played Anakin Skywalker, was shortlisted in 2000.
Zac Efron starred alongside Ryan in the sci-fi horror (Picture: Ken Woroner/Universal Pictures)
Jake later admitted that he entered ‘early retirement’ from acting at 12 after going through ‘living hell’ for appearing in Star Wars: The Phantom Menace.
This time around, the Razzies also singled out Blonde, Pinocchio and Machine Gun Kelly’s two films Good Mourning and Morbius as contenders for 2022’s ‘worst film’.
Although sci-fi horror Firestarter, directed by Keith Thomas, received pretty dire reviews across the board scoring only 10% on Rotten Tomatoes, criticism has not been directed at the actors, one of whom is Zac Efron, but at the film’s ‘maddeningly tension-free chase narrative’, as the Guardian’s review put it.
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Ryan also appeared as Brooke in the 2023 film The Old Way alongside Nicolas Cage, which was released on January 13.
Firestarter is currently streaming for free on Sky Go and Now TV Cinema.
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