Sam Worthington ‘blown away’ by Oscar gum criticism

Sam Worthington has said he was "blown away" by the media reaction over his chewing gum while presenting an award at the Oscars.

The Australian actor has said that he didn't realise it was a major faux pas.

The ‘Avatar’ star stepped in front of the cameras with Jennifer Lopez during the Academy Awards ceremony last month (Mar10) to present one of the coveted trophies.

However, Worthington's onstage chewing was largely criticised.

And he has now admitted that the media coverage in his native Australia was particularly harsh.

"The Australian press just roasted me for it. I was so blown away, I could have been eating a ham sandwich and wouldn't have realised it. I was standing next to (Jennifer Lopez)! I just wanted to throw my hands in the air and scream, 'Wooo!'" the Daily Express quoted him as telling People.com.