Sam Smith has responded to Dustin Lance Black, after the filmmaker hit out at him for claiming he was the first openly gay man to win an Oscar in his acceptance speech during Sunday’s (28 February) ceremony.
The singer, who picked up the gong for Best Original Song for his Bond theme ‘The Writing’s On The Wall’, issued a public apology to Dustin, who is one of several gay men to previously win an Academy Award.
Sam Smith
Taking to Twitter the morning after his win, Sam claimed he was sorry for not brushing up on his Oscars knowledge before making his speech.
“Second openly gay man to win an oscar or third or fourth or 100th, It wasn't my point,” he wrote.
“My point was to shine some light on the LGBT community who i love so dearly.
“Apologies for the mix up @DLanceBlack I'll be sure to check out your films now x Belated Congrats on the Oscar x.”
However, Sam failed to acknowledge Dustin’s claims that the singer had been texting his fiancé Tom Daley.
Dustin Lance Black (left) with fiancé Tom Daley
Dustin had posted on Twitter following Sam’s win: “Hey @SamSmithWorld, if you have no idea who I am, it may be time to stop texting my fiancé.”
But Dustin has now cleared up why he made the comments about Tom, writing: “Well this has proven to be a lively day on Twitter. From humor to anger. The former my intent... in defense of history. Much love to all.
“Dear Internet: @TomDaley1994 and @samsmithworld are pals. They text. Thus my surprise Sam took me for a closet case! Feel free to laugh.”
He also wrote earlier in the day: “THE POINT: knowing our LGBTQ history is important. We stand on the shoulders of countless brave men and women who paved the way for us.”
Olympic diver Tom has remained silent on the matter, instead posting videos to his workout videos on Twitter.
Sam sparked the backlash at the Oscars when he said: “I read an interview with Sir Ian McKellen that said no openly gay man had ever won an Oscar... I stand here as a proud gay man and I want to dedicate this to the LGBT community all around the world.”
Sir Ian has since explained what it was he actually said, posting on Twitter: “I'd said no openly gay actor had received Oscars - that doesn’t detract from [Sam Smith’s] achievement. Congratulations to him and all others.”
The ‘Lord Of The Rings’ actor’s original quotes came from an interview printed in The Guardian, where he said no openly gay man had ever won the Academy Award for Best Actor or Best Supporting Actor, amid the controversy surrounding the lack of diversity among this year’s nominees.
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