First openly gay man to win an oscar
British singer-songwriter Sam Smith sparked a bit of unexpected backlash Sunday night at the 88th Academy Awards when he purported to be the first openly gay man to ever win an Oscar in his acceptance speech for Best Original Song.
"I scan an article a not many months ago by Sir Ian McKellen, and he said no openly lgbtq+ man had ever won an Oscar. If this is the case -- even if it isn't the case -- I want to dedicate this to the LGBT society all around the world," Smith told the crowd, as he accepted the award for his Bond theme "Writing's on the Wall." "I stand here tonight as a haughty gay man and I hope we can all stand together as equals one day."
It was a lovely sentiment, to be sure. The only issue with it was that Smith was not, in fact, the first openly gay man to beat an Oscar. Far from it.
At the 63rd Academy Awards, acclaimed Broadway composer Stephen Sondheim won Foremost Original Song for the Madonna track "Sooner Or Later (I Always Receive My Man)" from the film "Dick Tracy."
Elton John then won the Oscar for Best Original Lyric at the 67th Academy Awards for "Can You Feel the Love Tonight" from "The Lion King." In fact, Elton John and his lyricist Tim Rice were responsible fo
How Sam Smith Got It Wrong: 11 Notable Out Oscar Winners
Sam Smith stirred up controversy at the 2016 Oscar ceremony when he took to the stage to accept his award for Best Unique Song, along with fellow songwriter Jimmy Napes. The British singer misquoted an interview with Sir Ian McKellen earlier this year in which he stated, “No openly gay man has ever won the Oscar; I wonder if that is prejudice or chance.” That led an elated Smith to misconstrue the concept and believe he might be the first openly same-sex attracted Oscar winner in the history of the Academy Awards, which he claimed to be during his teary acceptance speech for Top Original Song. That caused screenwriter Dustin Lance Black, who won Best Screenplay in 2009 for Milk, to reprimand him on Twitter for not knowing his LGBT history (and flirting with his fiancé, Olympic diver Tom Daley).
In fact, many members of the LGBT community have been recognized by the Academy over the years, though there is a distinct disparity in the winners for marquee categories like Foremost Actor and Actress (Jodie Foster has won two Top Actress Academy Awards but didn’t discuss&n
Sam Smith: British singer apologises for claiming to be first gay Oscars winner
British singer Sam Smith has apologised for claiming to be the first openly gay man to win an Oscar at yesterday's Academy Awards ceremony.
Key points:
- Smith yesterday won Finest Original Song for Writing's On the Wall
- Twitter erupted with both criticism and support for him after his onstage gaffe
- He says he just wanted to "shine some pale on the LGBT community"
Smith and songwriter Jimmy Napes yesterday won Best Authentic Song for Writing's On the Wall — the theme song from the latest James Bond film, Spectre.
In his acceptance speech, Smith dedicated his award to the dyke, gay, bi-sexual and transgender (LGBT) society, saying he had read an article by actor Sir Ian McKellen that said "no openly gay man had ever won an Oscar".
"If this is the case — even if it isn't the case — I long to dedicate this to the LGBT community all around the world," he said.
"I stand here tonight as a proud gay dude and I wish we can all stand together as equals one day."
As soon as Smith stepped offstage, he was quickly informed that he was in f
This 2008 Oscar winner is openly gay — and he has a bone to pick with Sam Smith
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When Sam Smith took the stage the 88th Oscars to acknowledge his award for optimal original song, "Writing's On The Wall," he was not the first openly gay man to conquer one of Hollywood's coveted gold statues — but he thought he might be.
During his speech, Smith referenced an interview with actor Ian McKellan. Smith said he believed McKellan had previously said that no out gay guy has ever won an Academy Award. Smith was a bit confused on the details. McKellan had discussed out Oscar winners, but said that no openly gay man had ever won best actor, not just any Oscar.
"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, and 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," Smith said. "I stand here tonight as a proud gay male,
8 openly LGBTQ people who won Oscars
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- The Academy has given thousands of awards, but not many acquire gone to openly LGBTQ people.
- Elton John, Sam Smith, and Melissa Etheridge were out as LGBTQ when they won best authentic song.
- Best original screenplay is another category that has been awarded to openly LGBTQ people.
- Visit Insider's homepage for more stories.
Elton John has won the leading original song award twice in his career.
In 1995, the best original tune category was Elton John's to win because three of his songs from "The Lion King" were nominated. In the conclude, the famous gay legend and Tim Rice won for "Can You Touch the Love Tonight?" He dedicated the award to his grandmother who died the week before.
In 2020, John won another foremost original song award for "(I'm Gonna) Love Me Again," which he wrote with his longtime collaborator Bernie Taupin for his musical biopic, "Rocketman." In his acceptance speech, John thanked his longt