Razzies rescind Bruce Willis' 'worst performance' award and Shelley Duvall's Shining nomination

The Golden Raspberry Awards, better known as the Razzies, have retracted a recent award highlighting the "worst performance" by Bruce Willis in a 2021 movie in the wake of his family's announcement that he has been diagnosed with aphasia and is retiring from acting.

"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," Razzies co-founders John J.B. Wilson and Mo Murphy said in a statement Thursday. "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."

In addition, the Razzies revoked their 42-year-old nomination of Shelley Duvall for her performance in The Shining, citing "extenuating circumstances" and director Stanley Kubrick's "treatment of her throughout the production."

The Razzies, which have skewered poorly received films and performances since 1980, dedicated an entire category to Willis this year, nominating eight films for Worst Performance by Bruce Willis in a 2021 Movie. The dubious top honor, bestowed the day before the Oscars per Razzies custom, went to the sci-fi action flick Cosmic Sin.

Four days later, however, Willis' family disclosed that he had been diagnosed with aphasia, a condition caused by damage in a specific part of the brain that controls language expression and comprehension, and that he would be "stepping away" from acting.

Several filmmakers who have worked with Willis in the past few years also told the Los Angeles Times that they had observed the actor struggling on set. As costars, collaborators, friends, and fans publicly voiced their support of Willis, the Razzies came under fire for their focus on him this year.

Wilson and Murphy announced the revocation of Willis' award and Duvall's nomination in a statement provided to IndieWire. The Razzies did not immediately respond to EW's request for further comment.

Duvall opened up about her grueling experience working with Kubrick on The Shining in an interview with The Hollywood Reporter last year.

"[Kubrick] doesn't print anything until at least the 35th take," she said. "Thirty-five takes, running and crying and carrying a little boy, it gets hard. And full performance from the first rehearsal. That's difficult." She added, "After a while, your body rebels. It says: 'Stop doing this to me. I don't want to cry every day.' And sometimes just that thought alone would make me cry. To wake up on a Monday morning, so early, and realize that you had to cry all day because it was scheduled — I would just start crying."

Wilson and Murphy had expressed doubt about Duvall's Razzie nomination as recently as last month, in an interview with Vulture. "Knowing the backstory and the way that Stanley Kubrick kind of pulverized her, I would take that back," Wilson said.

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