Original Firestarter star Drew Barrymore slams Razzies for nominating remake's child actor: 'It's bullying'

Original Firestarter actress Drew Barrymore has a burning distaste for the Razzies after the controversial awards body — which honors the worst movies of the year — nominated 12-year-old child actress Ryan Kiera Armstrong for her performance in the 2022 remake of the Stephen King horror story.

"I don't like it because she is younger, and it's bullying," Barrymore told host Gayle King on Thursday's episode of CBS Mornings, shortly after the Razzies rescinded Armstrong's nod for Worst Actress after a wave of public blowback. "We do want to be cautious about how we speak to or about people, because it encourages other people to join 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.'"

Barrymore, who played a pyrokinetic young girl in the 1984 film adaptation of King's 1980 thriller novel, attempted to lighten the mood after she was asked if she had any Razzie nominations.

"I should've. Has anyone seen Doppelganger?" joked Barrymore, who has four career Razzie nods (for Blended, Charlie's Angels: Full Throttle, Duplex, and Freddy Got Fingered).

"You've got to have a sense of humor about yourself," she continued, "but when you're talking about children, all bets are off. I don't like it… Over 18, you're fair game."

Earlier this week, the organization apologized to Armstrong, who was only 11 when she filmed the new Firestarter alongside Zac Efron, and implemented an eligibility requirement stipulating that future nominees must be at least 18 years old to qualify.

"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," said Razzies co-founder John Wilson in a statement to Variety. "The recent valid criticism of the choice of 11-year-old Armstrong as a nominee for one of our awards brought our attention to how insensitive we've been in this instance. As a result, we have removed Armstrong's name from the Final Ballot that our members will cast next month."

He continued, "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."

This is the second consecutive year the Razzies have withdrawn a nomination. In March 2022, the awards retracted a nomination for Bruce Willis for his collective performances in his 2021 films after his family announced that he was retiring from acting amid an aphasia diagnosis.

Watch Barrymore discuss the Razzies controversy above.

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