Drew Barrymore is the latest to weigh in on the Razzies drama. The anti-Oscars award show came under fire earlier this week for nominating 12-year-old Ryan Kiera Armstrong in their Worst Actress category for her part in the remake of Firestarter — the role that was originally played by a young Barrymore.
While speaking on CBS Mornings, the actress-turned-talk show host told Gayle King that she is on board with those criticizing the Razzies for this particular nomination, which has since been removed from the final ballot.
“I don’t like it. She is younger and it is bullying,” Barrymore told the table. “We do want to be cautious about how we speak to or about people because it encourages other people to join in on that bandwagon. I’m glad to see people didn’t jump on the ‘let’s make fun of her’ wave and instead said, ‘This isn’t right.’”
She added, “You got to have a sense of humor but when you’re talking about children all bets are off. I don’t like it.”
“It is bullying”: @drewbarrymore reacts to the Razzies nominating a 12-year-old for Worst Actress in “Firestarter,” a film Barrymore once starred in as a kid.
After internet backlash, the Razzies apologized, saying actors under the age of 18 would no longer be considered. pic.twitter.com/pQDR9ntsl7
— CBS Mornings (@CBSMornings) January 26, 2023
The 50 First Dates star, who appeared in the 1984 version of the movie when she was just nine years old, went on to gush over Armstrong, who was a guest on The Drew Barrymore Show back in May 2022.
“I absolutely love her,” she said. “I actually have an illustration she drew for me of the two of us and the word ‘Firestarter.’ She could not have been a lovelier person.”
When Barrymore was asked if she ever received recognition from the Razzies, she joked, “I must’ve! I should’ve! Has anyone seen Doppelganger?”
The actress, who later reiterated on her own show that Armstrong’s nom makes her “blood boil,” does, in fact, have four nods from the satirical award show for her work on Blended, Charlie’s Angels: Full Throttle, Duplex and Freddy Got Fingered — all of which she was of age for.
Since the public backlash, Razzies founder John Wilson has issued an apology to Armstrong and even revealed that they would no longer nominate any performer or filmmaker under the age of 18.
“Sometimes, you do things without thinking. Then you are called out for it. Then you get it. It’s why the Razzies were created in the first place,” he said before later adding, “We all make mistakes, very much us included.”
