Sylvester Stallone has hit out at British comic Jack Whitehall for distorting the “wonderful memories” of his recent Oscars nomination.
Whitehall told the Mirror he found himself consoling the veteran action hero after Stallone, who had been favourite, unexpectedly missed out on the best supporting actor prize for his turn in Rocky spin-off Creed.
While the comic appears to have been speaking with tongue firmly in cheek, the newspaper reported his comments without reference to their jocular nature. Writing on Twitter, Stallone appeared to bristle at the suggestion that he might have found himself crying on the shoulder of a little-known British standup. “NEVER met this young man. Pity it has to be under these circumstances,” he wrote.
The Hollywood star later posted an Instagram screenshot of the Mail Online article where he first came across Whitehall’s comments. “I was very proud of my nomination, worked hard for it , so why would anybody create insulting lies that only distort wonderful memories,” he wrote. “Why do it?”
"JACK WHITEHALL CONSOLED SLY AFTER OSCARS " I NEVER met this young man Pity it has to be under these circumstances pic.twitter.com/srLA2fPNqS
— Sylvester Stallone (@TheSlyStallone) March 30, 2016
Whitehall also told the Mirror he was required to fill Stallone in on fellow Briton Mark Rylance, the stage actor turned overnight Hollywood success story, who won best supporting actor for his performance as a Soviet agent in Steven Spielberg’s Bridge of Spies.
“I walked straight into Sylvester Stallone afterwards at the Governors Ball,” he said. “I had to console him about missing out on his Oscar, telling him there was always next year. Or maybe if he did Creed 2 he might get a nod. I think it reassured him.
“Also, because he knew I was English, I had to tell him who Mark Rylance was. I talked him through all of Mark’s performances at the Globe theatre.
“Good old Sly, I loved him in Creed. And I love Mark Rylance, so I had to remain pretty neutral about it.”
Responding to Stallone’s social media complaints, Whitehall told Mail Online: “It’s sad Sly doesn’t remember meeting me. Clearly I made very little impression. The same thing happened to me with Eamonn Holmes at the TV Choice awards.”
