Photo: WENN
After Sam Smith landed himself in hot water - particularly with screenwriter Dustin Lance Black - by suggesting that he was the first openly gay man to win an Oscar, the singer has decided to take a break from Twitter.
Smith won an Academy Award on Sunday (28 February) for Best Original Song for his Bond song 'Writing's On The Wall', despite describing his performance earlier in the night as "the worst moment of my life."
In his acceptance speech, Smith said, "I read an article that said no openly gay man had ever won an Oscar, and if this is the case, I want to dedicate this to the LGBT community all around the world. I stand here tonight as a proud gay man and I hope we can all stand together as equals one day."
In actual fact, it wasn't the case. In 1995, Sir Elton John won Best Original Song for 'Can You Feel the Love Tonight', while Howard Ashman picked up two Oscars in the Best Original Song - not to mention Stephen Sondheim and Bill Condon. Sir Ian McKellen was only referring to the Best Actor winners specifically.
Daley's fiance Dustin Lance Black took issue, as he himself won a Best Original Screenplay Oscar in 2009 for Milk – about the gay rights activist and politician Harvey Milk. Tweeting to correct the singer, Black said: "Hey @SamSmithWorld, if you have no idea who I am, it may be time to stop texting my fiancé. Here's a start" - before linking to his own acceptance speech:
Smith responded, "Sorry for the mix up @DLanceBlack I'll be sure to check out your films now x Belated Congrats on the Oscar x." Now though, he's decided to take a step back from the platform.
I'm logging off for a while. Some Martinis shaken not stirred are definitely in order.
— Sam Smith (@samsmithworld) March 1, 2016
Meanwhile, the Oscars also saw Lady Gaga stand up for victims of sexual assault, while Amy Winehouse was also honoured and Dave Grohl paid tribute to David Bowie and Alan Rickman with a moving cover of The Beatles' 'Blackbird'.
