Halle Berry on Why She Accepted Her ‘Catwoman’ Razzie in Person, Then “Set That Thing on Fire”

Halle Berry says she set her Razzie for Catwoman on fire but attended the 2011 ceremony to accept it because of how Hollywood views awards.

In an interview for Vanity Fair’s career timeline video series, the Bruised director and star breaks down the highs and lows of her career, from Monster’s Ball to Bond. That includes Berry talking about her critically derided turn as the popular DC Comics character in 2004’s Catwoman. The role earned the Oscar-winner — and first Black woman to win in the best leading actress category — an infamous Golden Raspberry Award (aka, a Razzie) from the parody award show, which honors the year’s worst cinematic achievements.

In a seemingly unusual move, the star showed up in person to accept her win for worst actress at the 2005 show, delivering a comedically over-the-top speech while holding her Academy Award for Monster’s Ball in one hand and the Razzie in the other. Now, Berry is talking about why she did it, with the movie star, director and producer pointing to a culture of elitism around awards.

“I went to the Razzies because I feel like we all take ourselves so seriously,” she told Vanity Fair. “If we get an award, if we get the Oscar, we somehow are made to feel like we’re somehow better than everybody else, but we’re really not. You were just chosen that year by your peers, and you were acknowledged for doing what they considered stellar work.”

Berry went on to question whether an Oscar-winner is actually “better than the next person who didn’t get that award” before stating that her stance is that no, they’re “not at all.”

“If you find yourself face to face with a Razzie, does that mean you’re the worst actor there ever was? Probably not. You just got the piss taken out of you that year by a group of people that can,” she stated.

Berry also noted the value in being able to take praise as well as criticism. “If I can show up to collect an Oscar when you’re honoring me, I can certainly show up to collect a Razzie when you say, good try, but do better,” she explained. “I always learned that if you can’t be a good loser, then you don’t deserve to be a good winner. So I went there and made fun of myself.”

While the award-winning talent knows how to joke about herself and her work, she admitted that no one will find her Razzie displayed next to her Oscar. “I had a great time and then I set that thing on fire,” Berry said, laughing.

During the video interview, the director also shared her pitch for a new Catwoman movie, were she to be at the helm  — something Berry has expressed interest in doing throughout the press tour for her Netflix MMA drama Bruised.

“I would totally change the story,” Berry said. “I would change the characters. I would have Catwoman saving the world from some catastrophe like male comic book characters get to do. I wouldn’t be just saving women from their faces cracking off from some cream. I would make it more substantial, and I would set it in a grittier, more modern world.”