By now, Sam Smith is well acquainted with the fact he was not the first openly gay person to win on Oscar. But last night (Feb. 28), the world was eager to fact check his erroneous acceptance speech, especially past Oscar winner Dustin Lance Black.
Black won the Oscar for best original screenplay for his work on 2008’s Milk, which told the story of the first openly gay politician in California, Harvey Milk.
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“Hey [Sam Smith], if you have no idea who I am, it may be time to stop texting my fiancé,” Black tweeted, along with the video of his 2009 acceptance 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
For the record, Black’s fiancé is British Olympian Tom Daley.
Black clarified his stance with a subsequent tweet:
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.
— Dustin Lance Black (@DLanceBlack) February 29, 2016
Even if Smith was referring to being the first openly gay person to win an Oscar in the best original song category, he was still incorrect. Howard Ashman captured the award in 1989 and 1991 for his work on The Little Mermaid and Beauty and the Beast, respectively. Elton John was out by the time he and Tim Rice won the 1994 title for The Lion King’s “Can You Feel the Love Tonight.” And 12 years later, Melissa Etheridge won for An Inconvenient Truth’s “I Need to Wake Up.”
Watch Sam Smith Perform ‘Writing’s on the Wall’ at the 2016 Oscars
Still, it was a good night for Smith. By capturing the best original song trophy (along with Jimmy Napes) for the James Bond theme “Writing’s on the Wall,” the 23-year old is already halfway to an EGOT. And thanks to Black, he got a little history lesson to go along with it.
