12-year-old actress removed from Razzie Awards nomination following criticism
LOS ANGELES - The Golden Raspberry Awards has rescinded 12-year-old "Firestarter" actress Ryan Kiera Armstrong from this year’s nomination list for worst actress.
"In light of feedback (which we’ve come to agree with) the Razzie Awards will not be including Ryan Kiera Armstrong on the final voting ballot," the awards show, also known as The Razzies, said on Twitter Tuesday.
The award show is a satirical ceremony that honors the worst of cinematic underachievements.
In a statement to Deadline and The Hollywood Reporter, John Wilson, co-founder of the Razzie Awards, apologized for including the actress in its list.
"The recent valid criticism of the choice of 11-year-old (sic) Armstrong as a nominee for one of our awards brought our attention to how insensitive we've been in this instance," Wilson said, responding to the widespread criticism over the nomination. "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 The Razzies has learned from this lesson, and going forward has adopted a voting guideline precluding any performer or filmmaker under 18 years of age from being considered for its awards.
Ryan Kiera Armstrong at the 'Luck' world premiere held at Regency Village Theater on July 30, 2022 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Gilbert Flores/Variety via Getty Images)
"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 continued. "Since our motto is ‘Own Your Bad,’ we realize that we ourselves must also live up to it."
Armstrong starred in the 2022 sci-fi horror "Firestarter" as Charlie McGee — made famous by Drew Barrymore in the original 1984 adaptation of Stephen King's classic novel. She acted in the role alongside Zac Efron and Sydney Lemmon.
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The actress began her professional acting career in 2017 in the recurring role of Minnie May Barry on Netflix's "Anne With An E." Her other roles have included "The Art of Racing In The Rain," "IT: Chapter II," "The Gloria's: Life On The Road" and "The Tomorrow War."
In 2021, Armstrong joined the cast of "American Horror Story: Double Feature" as Alma Gardner - making history as the series' first lead young actor, according to IMDB.
The Razzie "winners" will be "honored" on March 11, the day before the Academy Awards.