The 88th Academy Awards took place in Los Angeles last night and among the winners was London-born singer Sam Smith who won an Oscar for Best Original Song at the ceremony.
However, Smith’s acceptance speech left a few people a little offended. He told the crowd:, “I read an article a few months ago by Sir Ian McKellen and he said no openly gay man had won an Oscar.”
“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. I stand here tonight as a proud gay man.”
Sam’s speech wasn’t that well researched, though, as there have been LGBT recipients of Academy Awards in the past, and McKellen was solely referring to actors.
Naturally, the speech angered many in the community including Oscar-winning screenwriter and fiancée of Tom Daley, Dustin Lance Black, who tweeted this in response to Smith’s speech:
Hey @SamSmithWorld, if you have no idea who I am, it may be time to stop texting my fiancé. Here’s a start: https://t.co/8hGTRtIaMK
— Dustin Lance Black (@DLanceBlack) February 29, 2016
SHOTS. FIRED. Naturally people have been reacting to the comeback on Twitter and it’s glorious.
@DLanceBlack @samsmithworld pic.twitter.com/3UmFUV9XvI
— Alex Abad-Santos (@alex_abads) February 29, 2016
@DLanceBlack @samsmithworld pic.twitter.com/7gzmEq7PKq
— David Brewer (@DPB0101) February 29, 2016
@DLanceBlack @samsmithworld pic.twitter.com/0krmTY1T12
— Chris Fabre (@ChrisFabre) February 29, 2016
@DLanceBlack @samsmithworld BITCHHHH pic.twitter.com/uaiKHsrxAt
— Preston | 7•27 (@DinahcoIogy) February 29, 2016
The scandal of it all.
