Sam Smith apologises to Dustin Lance Black for Oscar confusion
The singer has responded to critics of his Oscar acceptance speech.
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.
During his acceptance speech Smith claimed “that no openly gay man had ever won an Oscar” after seemingly mis-reading an interview with Sir Ian McKellen.
“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.”
Many were quick to criticise the singer’s mix up – with Black lashing out at Smith’s confusion (and texting habits) on Twitter.
“Hey @SamSmithWorld, if you have no idea who I am, it may be time to stop texting my fiancé,” the Milk writer wrote.
The singer – who picked up the gong for Best Original Song for his Bond theme ‘The Writing’s On The Wall’ – has now issued a public apology to Black – who is just one of several gay men to previously win an Academy Award.
Taking to Twitter the morning after his win, Smith 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, Smith casually failed to acknowledge Black’s claims that the singer had been texting his fiancé Tom Daley.
The apology comes amid a backlash against Smith from other prominent gay figures, who have used his latest gaffe to highlight some of the singer’s previous “anti-gay” actions.
Clean Bandit violinist Neil Amin-Smith hit out at “Sam Smith talking cr*p again”, claiming that “Writing on the Wall is just a flaccid copy of Earth Song.”
He also posted a “monstrous” quote from Smith, who claimed in a 2014 interview that gay people shouldn’t “make their sexuality an issue” – and should just “act equal” in order to gain acceptance.
