Dustin Lance Black Tells Sam Smith to 'Stop Texting My Fiancé' After Suggesting He's the First Openly Gay Oscar Winner
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Update: In September 2019, Sam Smith announced that they use they/them pronouns. This content was written in February 2016 before Smith publicly announced their pronouns.
Oscar-winner Dustin Lance Black has a few issues with Sam Smith.
The 41-year-old screenwriter took to Twitter on Sunday to combat Smith’s suggestion at the Oscars that he may be the first openly gay man to win an Academy Award.
“Hey @SamSmithWorld, if you have no idea who I am, it may be time to stop texting my fiancé,” he tweeted, including a video of his 2009 Oscar win for his 2008 film Milk.
Black is engaged to Olympic diver Tom Daley. The coupled announced their engagement with a newspaper notice last October.
Smith, 23, took home an Oscar for Best Original Song thanks to his hit “Writing on the Wall” from the latest James Bond movie, Spectre.
After a moving performance, he gave an emotional acceptance speech, calling for equality.
“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,” he said. “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.”
The “Stay With Me” singer quickly received backlash for the comments, with social media users noting other openly gay men to win Oscars, including Sir Elton John, Stephen Sondheim, Bill Condon, Alan Ball and Joel Grey. (McKellen’s original comments were about the acting categories.)
Black, of course, is also an Oscar winner, becoming the first known openly gay man to take home the award for Best Original Screenplay in 2009 for Milk. He celebrated his notable win with an emotional and moving speech about LGBT rights.
On Monday, Black clarified his remarks, adding, “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.”
Neither Smith nor Daley have publicly responded to Black’s tweet.