recurring role as Tad "T" Stevens in the summer of 2012—T and Sonny are already at odds. "He did not like Sonny because he is gay, he is a gay basher" Smith said of T. So when T returns to town and finds out his best friend Will Horton (Chandler Massey) has recently come out of the closet—T blames Sonny for it." Sonny has already experienced this before and the incident with T "brings him back -- he thought he was home free. [It's] disappointing to him. He was very bullet proof at first." Smith explained that Sonny already "came to terms with who he is, and he thought all of this was in his past." The ordeal kind of shocks him. Smith admitted to having his own experience being bullied but described it as "very mild." However, he knew of others that had worse experiences and thought it was a good reason that the plot address the "huge issue." For about two weeks, the series shows the emotional effects of the bullying from Sonny's point of view and how he works through those emotions. One particular scene shows Sonny being comforted by his father, Justin (Wally Kurth). "It turned out to be such a great scene" Smith remarked. He continued, "It's important to have family there under circumstances like that." The storyline culminated with Sonny retaliating against his attacker Tad "T" Stevens (Brendan Coughlin). "I personally wouldn't go after someone like that" Smith said but he defended Sonny's actions by saying "our emotions run wild and we don't always think. We just react." Smith praised his costar Brendan Coughlin for his portrayal of T. "I just react off of him. He really scares me and makes me feel like crap." The storyline also afforded Smith with the opportunity to speak to congress about an anti-bullying campaign. Departure (2015) On April 3, 2015, Michael Goldberg of Serial Scoop reported that Smith would be leaving the series. However, neither the network or the show runners were available to comment at press time. Daytime Confidential's Jamey Giddens revealed that he had contacted the show's publicist but had yet to receive a response. Soap Opera Digest reported that Smith had decided to leave the series on his own accord. Smith who finished taping scenes in March 2015 confirmed his exit to Soap Opera Digest in May 2015 and revealed that the door was