Annual "worst of" the movies awards the Golden Raspberries, aka the Razzies, has rescinded its 2021 award given to actor Bruce Willis following his diagnosis with aphasia.
The tongue-in-cheek awards program that names the worst films and performances of the year had a snarkily named category called "Worst Performance by Bruce Willis" for 2021, which included all films the actor starred in last year.
But after the actor's diagnosis, the awards' organizers John J.B. Wilson and Maureen Murphy decided to rescind his Razzie, calling it "inappropriate" after having doubled down on the award at first.
Actor Rumer Willis, Bruce Willis' daughter with actor Demi Moore, announced his diagnosis last week in a heartfelt Instagram post, seen below.
In the post, Willis announced not only her father's diagnosis, but also his retirement from "the career that has meant so much to him" because of the condition's cognitive impact.
Aphasia affects speech, writing and comprehension in both written and verbal forms, and results in patients often struggling to express thoughts and to understand or find words. The condition can worsen over time.
In a since-deleted tweet, the Razzies' initially responded to Willis' diagnosis with an insensitive and snarky statement that sparked a wave of angry replies.
What exactly is the clarification?pic.twitter.com/XqGDw9636v— Formerly Mr. Worldwide (@Formerly Mr. Worldwide) 1648728935
The tweet read:
"The Razzies are truly sorry for #BruceWillis diagnosed condition. Perhaps this explains why he wanted to go out with a bang in 2021. Our best wishes to Bruce and family."
Wilson and Murphy later issued a statement taking a more thoughtful approach. They wrote:
“After much thought and consideration, the Razzies have made the decision to rescind the Razzie Award given to Bruce Willis, due to his recently disclosed diagnosis.”
"If someone’s medical condition is a factor in their decision making and/or their performance, we acknowledge that it is not appropriate to give them a Razzie."
But it didn't do much to quell the backlash.
How about we normalize not creating a process designed to demean, insult and make fun of people?\n\nRazzie Awards Backtrack, Rescind Bruce Willis Award \u2013 and Shelley Duvall Nomination as Well https://ca.news.yahoo.com/razzie-awards-backtrack-rescind-bruce-152236517.html?soc_src=community&soc_trk=tw\u00a0\u2026 via @Yahoo— \ud83d\udfe1\ud83d\udfe1\ud83d\udfe1\ud83d\udfe1 Jeff \ud83c\udde8\ud83c\udde6 (@\ud83d\udfe1\ud83d\udfe1\ud83d\udfe1\ud83d\udfe1 Jeff \ud83c\udde8\ud83c\udde6) 1648752866
Bruce Willis is ill and retired, but Razzie founder John J. B. Wilson is healthy and active. Impossible to believe that God exists.— Will Sloan (@Will Sloan) 1648663495
Maybe stop giving away awards that beat down people trying to create.— Tulkus (@Tulkus) 1648757052
\u201cAfter much thought and consideration\u201d Why would removing his awards require so much thought? It\u2019s the right thing to do and should have come naturally and quickly to you guys if you\u2019re decent people. I found that part of your statement quite strange tbh.— Lonely Salad (@Lonely Salad) 1648776994
Maybe having awards that belittle workers doing their work isn't such a hot idea after all.— Ambivalent Poet (@Ambivalent Poet) 1648790612
rescind your accounthttps://twitter.com/RazzieAwards/status/1509617577042997251\u00a0\u2026— CHOAM Nomsky (@CHOAM Nomsky) 1648826722
The @RazzieAwards have officially rescinded #BruceWillis latest Razzie & gave a more sensitive statement than yesterday's tweet. This should have been the immediate response. https://www.indiewire.com/2022/03/razzies-rescind-bruce-willis-1234713172/\u00a0\u2026 #FilmTwitter #Razzies— DeRazzled (@DeRazzled) 1648750318
"Razzie Awards Will Never Be Given Again" would be a more hopeful story.https://twitter.com/DEADLINE/status/1509662234456125442\u00a0\u2026— Harry Connolly (@Harry Connolly) 1648767772
Who could have foreseen that building your whole identity off being terrible could lead to an embarrassment like this?https://twitter.com/DEADLINE/status/1509662234456125442\u00a0\u2026— Matthew Federman (@Matthew Federman) 1648766702
I bet those that determine who gets a \u201cRazzie\u201d don\u2019t have someone following them around at work deciding how poor of a job they do. Razzies are stupid and unnecessary.https://apple.news/AEUHNMGuKQRSBcNQWCG0SsA\u00a0\u2026— \ud83c\uddfa\ud83c\udde6Derek The Democratic T Shirt Guy \ud83d\udc55\ud83d\udd4a\u270c\ud83c\udffd (@\ud83c\uddfa\ud83c\udde6Derek The Democratic T Shirt Guy \ud83d\udc55\ud83d\udd4a\u270c\ud83c\udffd) 1648816634
The Razzies also announced they have rescinded the award they gave to actor Shelley Duvall for her performance in the 1980 horror film The Shining, following years of backlash in light of the abusive work environment Duvall says she endured under director Stanley Kubrick.
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The Washington Post