Entertainment
The Razzies Cocreator Spills BTS Secrets Ahead of 2026 Awards Show
With the 2026 Golden Raspberry Awards airing in March, Us Weekly is taking a deep dive into the infamous awards show with cocreator Mo Murphy.
While speaking with Us exclusively, Murphy opened up about what it’s like to run the annual ceremony, from picking locations, to how nominees are chosen for each category to how trophies do — or sometimes don’t — find their way into the winner’s hands.
The Razzies began in the early ‘80s after publicist J.B. Wilson went to watch a double feature of Can’t Stop the Music and Xanadu and found himself “very upset he paid 99 cents” for both films, Murphy says. The pair then rallied together to launch the first ever Golden Raspberry Awards in 1981. But while the show is meant to honor the worst films, actors, directors and screenplays in Hollywood, Murphy explains that the concept of the show is actually deeper than that.
“Our mission is to bring humanity to celebrity,” she tells Us. “We all make mistakes (look at us) and if we own it, the audience relates and celebrates with us.”
Anyone who pays $40 dollars in dues can be part of the Razzies voting committee, and no movie or actor is safe from avoiding nomination. Fifty Shades of Grey swept the 2016 Razzies despite taking more than $570 million at the worldwide box office, taking home a total of five awards. Its sequel Fifty Shades Darker performed nearly as well, raking in a whopping nine nominations, winning two.
Despite what some may assume, Murphy insists that most nominees “actually do have fun” with the idea of the show. Judi Dench once said she was “delighted” being nominated for her performance in Cats, while Sandra Bullock attended the ceremony in person in 2011 to accept her Worst Actress and Worst Onscreen Couple (with Bradley Cooper) awards for her film All About Steve.
The 46th Razzie Awards will air on YouTube Saturday, March 14. Keep scrolling for 25 things you didn’t know about the event:
1. The Razzies began in 1981 after publicist John J. B. Wilson became “very upset that he paid 99 cents for a double feature of Can’t Stop the Music and Xanadu,” Murphy says of her cofounder.
2. The Razzies voting pool is made up of 1,200 people, six times the body that votes for the Golden Globes.
3. Anyone who pays $40 in dues is in.
4. Team Razzies deliberately picks tacky venues to draw a contrast with the Oscars.
5. Box-office success often doesn’t carry weight in what movies are nominated.
6. Fifty Shades of Grey raked in $570 million at the worldwide box office but was still nominated for six Razzies in 2016, winning five.
7. Sequel Fifty Shades Darker received nine nominations in 2018, winning two.
8. David Eigenberg embraced the Razzie wins for Sex in the City 2 — despite only being in the movie for “three minutes” — by making a home movie about it with his family.
9. Jamie Dornan claimed he wanted to attend the Razzies but never got invited, despite winning for Fifty Shades of Grey.
10. Dakota Johnson, Dornan’s Fifty Shades costar, claimed she asked to have her Razzies sent to her.
11. Not everyone loves the Razzies. Murphy “suspects” Adam Sandler took his family to Disney World instead of accepting his Razzies sweep for Jack & Jill.
12. Still, Murphy insists “most winners actually do have fun.”
13. Sometimes people show up to the Razzies hoping to win and are upset when they don’t, Murphy tells Us.
14. Showgirls director Paul Verhoeven was the first recipient to attend the in-person ceremony, in 1996.
15. Verhoeven “showed up and enjoyed himself,” Murphy says, telling the crowd, “This was much more fun than reading the reviews of my movie!”
16. Judi Dench was “delighted” to hear about her Worst Supporting Actress Razzie nomination for Cats, a film she didn’t watch.
17. When Sandra Bullock won a Razzie for All About Steve, she showed up with a wagon of DVDs, urging the audience to rewatch.
18. Bullock sent Johnson a voice note inviting her into the Razzie Club after she won Worst Actress for 2024’s Madame Web.
19. Dornan broke his Razzie mid-interview after Conan O’Brien presented it to him on TV in 2020.
20. Ben Affleck left his Razzie for Gigli behind on Larry King Live in 2004, so Murphy and the team sold it on eBay to pay for a venue deposit.
21. President Donald Trump has yet to pick up his Worst Supporting Actor Razzie for 1989’s Ghosts Can’t Do It.
22. Murphy recalls one pair of bodybuilding twins who attended and insisted on “giving an acceptance speech” for an award they “didn’t win.”
A change of heart. The Razzie Awards have walked back their decision to continue their “Worst Performance by Bruce Willis in 2021” award following the actor’s recent health issues. “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,” […]
23. When Battlefield Earth won big at the 2001 Razzies, John Travolta reportedly said he has people he pays to keep him from hearing about “such things.”
24. The age minimum for Razzies became 18 after 12-year-old Firestarter star Ryan Kiera Armstrong’s nomination was rescinded in 2023. Murphy’s team took the win instead.
25. Bruce Willis’ Razzie win was annulled in light of his aphasia diagnosis, as was Shelley Duvall’s after revelations of onset mistreatment on The Shining.