[Update: Straight from the horse's mouth, this is Sam Smith's reaction to being told he isn't the first openly gay man to win an Oscar.]
Sam Smith, just told that he is not, in fact, the first openly gay Oscar winner: "Shit! Fuck that!" (he was kidding, it was funny) #Oscars— Josh Lincoln Dickey (@JLDlite) February 29, 2016
[Original post:] When Sam Smith took the stage to accept his first-ever Oscar for Spectre's "Writing's On the Wall," he referenced an article in which Sir Ian McKellan stated that an openly gay man has never won the Oscar for Best Actor.
According to Smith's speech, though, it seemed like the singer thought that McKellan had meant no openly gay man has won an Oscar ever. "I don't know if that's true or not," Smith admitted on the stage.
Well, turns out it definitely isn't.
Elton John won the same award Smith took home -- Best Original Song -- in 1995 for "Can You Feel the Love Tonight" (Lion King).
And more recently, Milk scribe Dustin Lance Black won the Oscar in 2009 for Best Original Screenplay.
It's true, though, that the acting categories have had few out winners: Joel Grey won a statuette for Best Supporting Actor, for example, though he didn't come out until far after his win in 1973. A closeted John Gielgud got the same prize in 1981.
Even so, several people were quick to correct Smith's mistake on Twitter:
Good thing Sam Smith added the line: "even if he is not" the first openly gay man to win an #Oscar. Because he ain't. #Oscars2016— Bahman Kalbasi (@BahmanKalbasi) February 29, 2016
Great speech, Sam Smith. But definitely not the 1st openly gay man to accept an Oscar. https://t.co/BW4nOSEsV6— Joe Fryer (@joefryer) February 29, 2016
"I'm Not the Only One" is about how many other openly gay men have won Oscars besides Sam Smith— Sachi Ezura (@misstrionics) February 29, 2016
Sam Smith was not the first openly gay man to win an #Oscar. Dustin Lance Black won for writing Milk. Ugh pic.twitter.com/R9rQpaN8GM— Marcus Shepard (@MarcusShepard) February 29, 2016
Though he's not quite up on his Oscar history, Smith got points for taking an opportunity to dedicate his award to his comrades.
"I want to dedicate this to the LGBT community all around the world," he said. "I stand here tonight as a proud gay man and i hope we can all stand together as equals one day."
Smith and Napes beat out Lady Gaga and Diane Warren's "Til It Happens to You"; The Weeknd's "Earned It" (Fifty Shades of Grey); "Simple Song #3" (Youth), composed by David Lang and performed by South Korean soprano Sumi Jo; J. Ralph and Anohni's "Manta Ray" (Racing Extinction).