(CNN) — The Razzies, a tongue-in-cheek awards show that honors the year’s worst film, withdrew its award from Bruce Willis after the actor’s family revealed he suffers from aphasia, a medical condition that affects his cognitive abilities.
“After much thought and consideration, the Razzies have made the decision to rescind the Razzie Award given to Bruce Willis due to his newly revealed diagnosis,” said a statement from The Razzies. “If someone’s medical condition is a factor in your decision-making and/or their performance, we recognize it’s not appropriate to give them a Razzie.”
On Wednesday, Willis’ family, including his ex-wife Demi Moore, said in a joint statement that the actor would be taking a break from acting due to his medical condition.
“This is a truly challenging time for our family and we are so grateful for your continued love, compassion and support,” the statement read in part.
According to the Mayo Clinic, aphasia is “a disease that prevents you from communicating” and can be caused by a stroke, head injury, brain tumor or disease.
The Razzies this year “nominated” Willis for eight of his performances this year in a category named in his honor, “Worst Performance by Bruce Willis in a 2021 Movie.” The group finally decided that his role in “Cosmic Sin” was the winner.
“The series was never intended to be an ongoing part of the Razzies. Therefore, it will not be repeated,” the Razzies statement added.
On Wednesday, the organization appeared to take a lighter approach in its response, writing and Twitter: “The Razzies are truly sorry for #BruceWillis’ diagnosed condition. Perhaps this explains why he wanted to come out strong in 2021. Best wishes to Bruce and his family.”
Probably due to anger, the Razzie then they tweeted: “To clarify, we heard about Willis’s diagnosis at the same time as everyone else…just this morning.”
The Razzies also announced Thursday that they would rescind a decades-old nomination for Shelley Duvall, whose performance in “The Shining” earned her a nomination at the time.
Razzie founders John JB Wilson and Maureen Murphy said in an interview with Vulture that they regretted the nomination.
“As we recently mentioned in a Vulture interview, mitigating circumstances also apply to Shelley Duvall in “The Shining.” Since then, we’ve found that Duvall’s performance was affected by Stanley Kubrick’s treatment of her throughout the film. production,” added Thursday’s statement. “We would like to take this opportunity to rescind that nomination as well.”
