While the origins of the Razzie Awards came as an opportunity to playfully mock the major awards system, recent years have seen movie fans turning on the annual event, citing that the playfulness has left the organization and its intentions feel more malicious, which includes their recent decision to include an entire category devoted to the “Worst Performance By Bruce Willis in a 2021 Movie.” With Willis’ family revealing earlier this week that he was retiring from acting due to a diagnosis of aphasia, which is a language disorder caused by brain damage that impacts the ability to communicate, the Razzies initially earned backlash for claiming he was “going out with a bang,” though has since announced it was retroactively removing the category and award.
“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,” a statement by co-founders John Wilson and Mo Murphy reads, per TheWrap. “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.”
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In addition to rescinding the award in this category, the organization also addressed a similar situation in which Shelley Duvall was nominated for her performance in The Shining. Despite most audiences praising the actor’s work in the film, subsequent years saw a number of anecdotes and stories detailing the psychological abuse that director Stanley Kubrick put her through at the time, which had a lasting impact on Duvall in the years since.
“As we recently mentioned in a Vulture Interview, extenuating circumstances also apply to Shelley Duvall in The Shining,” the statement shared. “We have since discovered that Duvall’s performance was impacted by Stanley Kubrick’s treatment of her throughout the production.We would like to take this opportunity to rescind that nomination as well.”
The announcement of Willis’ retirement took fans entirely by surprise, resulting in a massive outpouring of support from all corners of social media. When the Razzies weighed in on the announcement, however, they posted, “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.”
Our thoughts go out to the Willis family in this difficult time.
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