Golden Raspberry Awards Expose the Hardships That Come With Child Stardom

The Golden Raspberry Awards, also known as the Razzies, was created in 1981 to oppose the Oscars. The award show was founded by UCLA film graduates John J. B. and Mo Murphy as a parody of the Academy Awards, awarding the worst films and performances of the year. The award show has been through a string of controversies over the years after nominating and awarding many A-list actors and critically acclaimed movies, and this year was no different.

While the awards are meant to belittle any performance deemed mediocre, many big Hollywood names have been nominated and even awarded. Tom Hanks is currently nominated for “Worst Actor” alongside Sylvester Stallone, who currently holds the record for most Razzie nominations and awards. The satirical awards have even gone as far to jokingly nominate Hanks for “Worst Screen Couple” with his “latex laden face (and ludacris accent).”

The recent nominations for the 43rd Razzie Awards has received so much criticism that the Awards had to issue a public apology and set new rules in place. 12-year-old actress Ryan Kiara Armstrong was nominated for “Worst Actress” for the new adaptation of the 1984 film “Firestarter.” Former child actress Drew Barrymore denounced the nomination on CBS’ Talk of the Table, causing an age limit for nominations to be set.

“I don’t like it because she is younger,” Barrymore said. “When talking about children, all bets are off.” 

Barrymore is known for her upbeat personality and kind soul, and sadly, much of her entertainment industry wisdom can be accredited to the tragedies she faced during her early careers. The child star was born into a family of Hollywood actors, which helped her boost her career at a young age. As she booked and starred in more movies, she began attending Studio 54 with her mother, Jaid Barrymore. The child star would then attend frequently, which would later introduce her to drugs and alcohol and land her in rehab by age 12. By age 13, her mother had sent her to a psychiatric ward, where nurses had advised her to legally separate from her mother. Barrymore was emancipated and declared an adult at age 14. 

The 47-year-old actress knows first-hand what child stardom can do to adolescents, purposely keeping her own children away from the industry. As more young actors rise to fame, more children are introduced to the hardships of the film industry: abuse from trusted adults, easy access to drugs and alcohol and fame that allows you to do almost anything.