The Oscar-Winning Actresses Who Accepted Their Razzies In-Person
The Academy Awards are one of the highest honors Hollywood can bestow, and actors, writers, directors, and other artists have sought recognition from the Academy of Motion Picture Arts. But for powerful good, there must also be a powerful evil, represented in the mostly-harmless Razzie awards. The self-proclaimed "counterbalance" to the Oscars has conducted a mock awards ceremony — usually just days before the Academy ceremonies — for the past 40 years.
The Razzies pride themselves in distributing the most "humbling awards to some of Hollywood's brightest stars." Not even untouchable Oscar nominees are safe/exempt from a Razzie nod at some point in their career. Some have even been nominated for a Razzie the same year as a coveted Oscar nom. But only two actresses in history have won both an Oscar and a Razzie ... and have gone on to accept the latter in person.
Halle Berry Recreated Her Oscars Speech at the Razzie Awards
The early 2000s were packed with highs and lows for Halle Berry. In 2002, she became the first Black woman to take home the Oscar for Best Actress for her work in "Monster's Ball." Though an accolade like that is usually synonymous with career-defining success, Berry still had to fight for fulfilling roles. That same year, Berry starred as Bond Girl Jinx Johnson in "Die Another Day," and was on board for a Jinx spin-off — before the $80 million price tag gave MGM Pictures cold feet.
In an effort to expand opportunities for Black actors in action movies, Berry quickly pivoted to "Catwoman" in 2004. Though her performance was a de facto highlight of the film, "Catwoman" infamously bombed, earning Berry the Razzie for Worst Actress in 2005.
The Razzie win didn't exactly come as a surprise — we've all seen what she had to work with — but the actress' appearance at the Razzies ceremony definitely does. Berry took the stage in a hilariously humble moment, Oscar statue in hand, and recited her 2002 acceptance Best Actress speech word for word. When reminiscing about the infamous moment, Berry explained that she accepted the award to show what it meant to be a gracious loser.
"If we get the Oscar," the actress told Vanity Fair, "we somehow are made to feel like we're somehow better than everybody else, but we're really not ... if I can show up to collect an Oscar when you're honoring me, I can certainly show up to collect a Razzie when you say, 'Good try, but do better.'"
Sandra Bullock Won an Oscar Right After Accepting Her Razzie
The Razzies ceremony always takes place the night before the Oscars, and that surprisingly worked to Sandra Bullock's benefit in 2010. Five years after Berry, Bullock was nominated as Worst Actress for the film "All About Steve." Ironically enough, the Academy had also nominated her for Best Actress for her work in "The Blind Side."
The actress blithely expanded on Berry's concept of losing with grace by attending the Razzies in-person, and bringing a red wagon filled with "All About Steve" DVDs onto the stage for her acceptance speech. She intended on distributing the copies attendees who'd yet to see the film. Bullock also brought a copy of the "All About Steve" shooting script and was prepared to read through it, line by line, in case anyone had any comments about her delivery.
If Bullock's cheeky appearance at the Razzies didn't spell triumph, the actress got the last laugh the following night. At the Oscars, Bullock took home her first ever Best Actress win for "The Blind Side" — which in turn made her the first actress to "win" both awards in the same year.
A "humbling" Razzie win isn't always the end of the world in Hollywood. Berry's approach to the mock award is a surprisingly refreshing take in a world so focused on praise. An Oscar won't always be on the table, which makes one's reaction to those less-coveted accolades much more important in the grand scheme.