Donald, Melania Trump bag Razzie's 'Worst Actor' nominations

US President received two mentions of worst actor for appearing as himself in the 2018 documentaries


Reuters January 22, 2019
PHOTO: REUTERS

LOS ANGELES: John Travolta’s mob movie flop Gotti and President Donald Trump were nominated on Monday for the Razzie Awards for the worst films of 2018 after a year that organisers called full of disasters - both on and off screen.

The new Sherlock Holmes comedy Holmes & Watson garnered six mentions, including for its stars Will Ferrell and John C Reilly, who were cited for “trashing two of literature’s most beloved characters.”

US President Donald Trump speaks following the ceremonial swearing-in of James Mattis as secretary of defense at the Pentagon in Washington, DC. PHOTO: AFP PHOTO: AFP

The tongue-in-cheek Razzies, created in 1980, serve as an antidote to Hollywood’s Oscars ceremony. Nominees were announced a day before Tuesday’s Academy Awards nominations - the highest honors in the movie industry.

“With a stumbling stock market, a possible impending Presidential impeachment, raging wild fires, devastating floods, mass shootings and a litany of plagues that reached near Biblical proportions, 2018 was a year overfull with disasters,” Razzie founder John Wilson said in a statement.

US President Donald Trump has been a firm supporter of Israel since taking office. PHOTO: AFP PHOTO: AFP

“And then there were last year’s movies,” he quipped.

Trump got two worst actor nominations for appearing as himself in the 2018 documentaries Death of a Nation, from conservative film maker Dinesh D’Souza, and liberal Michael Moore’s Fahrenheit 11/9.

Trump previously won a Razzie for his cameo role as a businessman in the 1989 crime comedy Ghosts Can’t Do It, starring Bo Derek.

On Monday, Trump’s wife, Melania, and White House aide Kellyanne Conway both got nods in the worst supporting actress field for their archival footage in Fahrenheit 11/9.

Trump was welcomed by a troupe of traditional drummers and dancers. PHOTO AFP Trump was welcomed by a troupe of traditional drummers and dancers. PHOTO AFP

Gotti, about late New York Mafia boss John Gotti, took in just $4.3 million at the box office last summer and notched six nods, including worst picture, screenplay, actor and “worst screen combo” for stars Travolta and his wife, Kelly Preston.

Nominees and winners of the Razzies are voted for online by around 1,000 Razzie members from 24 countries, who sign up online and pay a $40 membership fee.

Winners of the year’s worst films — if they turn up — will be given a gold, spray-painted trophy at a ceremony held on the eve of the Feb 24 Academy Awards.

Have something to add to the story? Share it in the comments below. 

COMMENTS (1)

BrainBro | 5 years ago | Reply Americans love the Trump despite everything you see in the liberal media. Trump wouldn't be in power, if his popularity weren't that spread out and deep within the White American community.
Replying to X

Comments are moderated and generally will be posted if they are on-topic and not abusive.

For more information, please see our Comments FAQ