Razzies rescind Bruce Willis’ ‘worst performance’ award after aphasia diagnosis

FILE PHOTO: Actor Bruce Willis attends the European premiere of "Glass" in London
Bruce Willis
REUTERS
Josh Salisbury1 April 2022

The Razzies have rescinded a “worst performance” of the year award handed to Bruce Willis after learning of his aphasia diagnosis.

Earlier this week, the Die Hard actor’s family revealed he would be retiring over the cognitive condition, which impacts the ability to speak and understand others.

In February, the parody awards had ‘nominated’ Willis for eight of his performances this year in a category named specifically after him, ‘Worst performance by Bruce Willis in a 2021 movie’.

They named his role in Cosmic Sin as the winner.

The Razzies has now said it would rescind the 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,” it said in a statement.

“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.”

Bruce Willis' career

1/11

Announcing Willis’s diagnosis, his family, including ex-wife Demi Moore, said in a statement: “This is a really challenging time for our family and we are so appreciative of your continued love, compassion and support.

“We are moving through this as a strong family unit, and wanted to bring his fans in because we know how much he means to you, as you do to him.

“As Bruce always says, ‘Live it up’ and together we plan to do just that.”

The Razzies sparked backlash when they tweeted not long after the family’s statement.

“The Razzies are truly sorry for #BruceWillis diagnosed condition,” the tweet read.

“Perhaps this explains why he wanted to go out with a bang in 2021. Our best wishes to Bruce and family.”

Among those criticising the statement were Full Metal Jacket actor, Vincent D’Onofrio, who said: “Look away from fanfare and see humanity. See kindness. Do not judge others until you lived in their shoes.”

The awards later clarified it only knew of Willis’s diagnosis after it was made public in the family’s statement.

It also rescinded a decades-old nomination for Shelley Duvall, for her performance in The Shining.

It said that Stanley Kubrick’s treatment of her throughout the production affected her performance.

Create a FREE account to continue reading

eros

Registration is a free and easy way to support our journalism.

Join our community where you can: comment on stories; sign up to newsletters; enter competitions and access content on our app.

Your email address

Must be at least 6 characters, include an upper and lower case character and a number

You must be at least 18 years old to create an account

* Required fields

Already have an account? SIGN IN

By clicking Create Account you confirm that your data has been entered correctly and you have read and agree to our Terms of use , Cookie policy and Privacy policy .

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged in

MORE ABOUT