Sorry, Sam Smith, you are not the first openly gay man to win an Oscar.
Smith’s claim came after he and Jimmy Napes won the best original song Oscar for “Writing’s on the Wall” from the James Bond movie “Spectre.”
In his acceptance speech, Smith suggested that he might be the first openly gay man to win an Academy Award.
“I read an article a few months ago by Ian McKellen, and he said that no openly gay man had ever won an Oscar,” Smith said. “And if this is the case, even if it isn’t the case, I want to dedicate this to the LGBT community all around the world.”
It isn’t the case, a fact quickly pointed out by openly gay screenwriter Dustin Lance Black, who won best original screenplay in 2009 for the movie “Milk.”
“Hey @SamSmithWorld, if you have no idea who I am, it may be time to stop texting my fiance,” he tweeted, referring to British diver Tom Daley and including a video of himself accepting the Oscar.
Ouch.
McKellen, a veteran Oscar-nominated actor who starred as Gandalf in in “The Lord of the Rings” and “The Hobbit,” was more gracious while correcting Smith.
“I’d said no openly gay actor had received #Oscars-that doesn’t detract from @samsmithworld achievement. Congratulations to him & all others!”
Other openly gay Academy Award winners include Elton John for best original song from “The Lion King,” Stephen Sondheim for best original song from “Dick Tracy,” Alan Ball for best original screenplay for “American Beauty” and Bill Condon for best adapted screenplay for “Gods and Monsters.”
The Twitterverse got a little snarky, as it’s prone to do, inserting Smith into pictures of the Stonewall riots and other historic events that he had not actually done “first.”
Smith continued to post to social media Monday, saying his point “was to shine some light on the LGBT community who i love so dearly.”
And he mentioned the effects of too much drinking on Instagram. “I can’t put into words how I feel other than… Hungover and Insanely happy x.”
