Drew Barrymore comes to Ryan Kiera Armstrong's defense over Firestarter Razzie nomination

Drew Barrymore—who played Armstrong's character in the original Firestarter adaptation—called the Razzie nomination "bullying"

By Gabrielle Sanchez  |  January 27, 2023 | 5:27pm
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Drew Barrymore comes to Ryan Kiera Armstrong's defense over Firestarter Razzie nomination
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Drew Barrymore—queen of all that’s fair and just in this world—called out the Razzie Awards for their former nomination of Firestarter’s Ryan Kiera Armstrong for “Worst Actress.”

“I don’t like it,” Barrymore tells CBS Mornings. “She is younger and it is bullying. 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 adds, “You got to have a sense of humor but when you’re talking about children all bets are off. I don’t like it.”

Armstrong plays lead Charlie McGee in the recent adaptation of the Stephen King novel, about a young girl who develops pyrokinetic abilities. The role was previously played by Barrymore herself in the 1984 film from Mark L. Lester when she was 9 years old.

“Well, this makes my blood boil,” Barrymore later said on her eponymous talk show, per The Independent. “Listen, I get poking fun at ourselves, I mean come on, fair game, bring it on, but Ryan is 12 years old and Razzie co-founder John Wilson has since apologized and removed her from the category and said they’re implementing a new rule precluding anyone 18 years or younger.”

“I would just say to them, ‘Please don’t do this to people who are younger. That’s not nice,’” Barrymore continues. “And I really like Ryan… don’t do this again.”

Over the last week, the Razzie Awards have been under fire for nominating 12-year-old Armstrong, and have since revoked her name from the voting ballot. Going forward, the organizers say performers under the age of 18 will not be considered for the Razzie Awards.

 
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