Razzies apologize for pre-teen nomination, adopt age guidelines: ‘Sometimes you do things without thinking’

The Razzie Awards certainly caused excitement this week after the 12-year-old was nominated fire starter Star Ryan Kiera Armstrong for Worst Actress. Today, the leader of the group behind the Golden Raspberry apologized.

In response to the widespread outcry over the name, the Razzies’ John Wilson said: “Sometimes you do things without thinking and you get called out for it. Then you get it. That’s why the raids were done in the first place.” Read his full statement below.

Wilson called the backlash “valid criticism” and said that Armstrong’s name had been removed from the most recent vote and that the group was “instituting a voting policy that prohibits any artist or filmmaker under the age of 18 from qualifying for our awards.”

The “winners” of the Razzie will be “honored” on March 11, the day before the Oscars.

Here is Wilson’s full statement:

Sometimes you do things without thinking and then you are called to do them. Then you get it. This is why the Razzies were created in the first place.

Recent valid criticism of the selection of 11-year-old Armstrong as a nominee for one of our awards has reminded us how insensitive we have been in this case. As a result, we have removed Armstrong’s name from the final vote that our members will cast next month. We also believe that Ms. Armstrong is owed a public apology, and we want to say that we apologize for any pain she has suffered as a result of our decisions.

Having learned from this lesson, we would also like to announce that we now adopt a voting policy that prohibits any artist or filmmaker under the age of 18 from qualifying for our awards.

It was never our intention to bury anyone’s career. That’s why our Savior Award was created. We all make mistakes, many of us do too.

Since our motto is “Own Your Bad”, we realize that we have to live it ourselves.

Honest,
John Wilson, The Razzie Awards