After public outrage, The Razzies Awards apologized for nominating a 12-year-old Ryan Kiera Armstrong for its "worst actress" category.
Earlier this week the Razzies, which selects the worst films and performances of the year, revealed its nominees for 2023. "Firestarter" star Armstrong was among the selections for the "worst actress" category along with Bryce Dallas Howard, Diane Keaton, Kaya Scodelario and Alicia Silverstone, according to People.
Including a child actor on its list sparked a wave of backlash, with critics slamming the organizers. Among those who took issue with the naming of Armstrong was "Little Giants" star Devon Sawa, who spoke out on Twitter.
"The Razzies are run by soulless people," he wrote in a now-deleted tweet cited by People. "Nominating a 12 year old? F**k them. That child could grow to be amazing if you haven't gotten in their head."
"WandaVision" actor Julian Hilliard, 11, also weighed in on the matter on Twitter: "The razzies are already mean-spirited & classless, but to nominate a kid is just repulsive & wrong," wrote Hilliard. "Why put a kid at risk of increased bullying or worse? Be better."
In response, the official Razzies Twitter account announced Tuesday that it would not include Armstrong on the final voting ballot.
Razzies founder John Wilson also said in a statement to Variety that the nominees' age requirement to had been raised 18, saying that the outrage was "valid criticism" that brought to attention "how insensitive we've been in this instance."
"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 said.
"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."
Wilson added: "Since our motto is 'Own Your Bad,' we realize that we ourselves must also live up to it."
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