Sylvester Stallone has accused Jack Whitehall of making up "insulting lies" by saying he consoled him after his Oscars loss.
The 27-year-old British comedian has claimed to have acted as a shoulder to cry on for the 69-year-old actor after he failed to win in the Best Supporting Actor category at this year’s Academy Awards for his performance as Rocky Balboa in ‘Creed’.
Stallone – who is married to Jennifer Flavin – has now taken to social media to state he never met Whitehall at the event in Los Angeles and has accused him of fabricating his story and tarnishing the "wonderful memories" he has of the evening.
Posting on Twitter, the action legend wrote: "JACK WHITEHALL CONSOLED SLY AFTER OSCARS " I NEVER met this young man Pity it has to be under these circumstances (sic)"
Making another post on his official Instagram account, Stallone fumed: "I was very proud of my nomination, worked hard for it, so why would anybody create insulting lies that only distort wonderful memories. Why do it?"
In his version of events of what occurred between the pair back on February 28, Whitehall claimed he gave a crestfallen Stallone a pep talk at the Governors Ball and explained to him why he thought British actor Mark Rylance won the Academy Award over him for his portrayal of Soviet intelligence officer Rudolf Abel in Steven Spielberg’s ‘Bridge of Spies’.
Whitehall said: "I walked straight into Sylvester Stallone afterwards at the Governors Ball. 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."
Despite Stallone’s denial, Whitehall is sticking by his story.
He told the Daily Mirror newspaper: "It’s sad Sly doesn’t remember meeting me. It’s clear I made very little impression."