Oscars 2016: Sam Smith responds to acceptance speech criticism

Following his win for Best Original Song at Sunday’s Oscars ceremony, Sam Smith took a moment to put the spotlight on the LGBT community, suggesting he may be the first openly gay man to win an Academy Award.

But that statement wasn’t quite accurate: screenwriter Dustin Lance Black later called Smith out on Twitter, linking to his own acceptance speech in 2009 for Milk. Smith spoke about his Oscars speech Monday on Twitter, writing, “Second openly gay man to win an oscar or third or fourth or 100th, It wasn’t my point. My point was to shine some light on the LGBT community who i love so dearly.”

He added, “Apologies for the mix up @DLanceBlack I’ll be sure to check out your films now x Belated Congrats on the Oscar x.”

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“I read an article a few months ago by Sir Ian McKellen, and he said that no openly gay man had ever won an Oscar,” the “Writing’s on the Wall” singer said in his speech on Sunday night. “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.”

McKellan clarified Monday that he’d actually stated no gay man had ever received the Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role honor. Earlier Monday, Black also tweeted, “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.”