Sam Smith Blames Hip Flask Of Tequila for Oscar Blunder

(Radio.com) Sam Smith sat down for an interview with Ellen DeGeneres Tuesday (Oct. 24), with the "Too Good at Goodbyes" singer admitting that a little liquid courage made him say the wrong thing at the Academy Awards last year.

"It all started with a hip flask of tequila," Smith explained of the onstage flub after winning Best Original Song for "Writing's on the Wall" from the James Bond film Spectre. "We thought we had no chance of winning at all, so I was just like, lets get the party started ' and then we won. I went up and I mucked up my speech. I basically said I was the first gay person to ever win an Oscar. And I obviously know I'm not, but my brain and my mouth didn't work together."

Already mortified by his mistake, Smith soon found himself being corrected by a gay Oscar-winning music legend. "Afterwards I saw Elton John at the after party, and he was like, 'I've won an Oscar,'" Smith shared. "I was like, 'I'm sorry - I was young when you won your Oscar.'" (Smith was not even three years old when John won Best Original Song for "Can You Feel the Love Tonight" from The Lion King in 1995).

DeGeneres also talked to the singer about living in an alleged haunted house, using the occasion to scare him with not just one but two ghostly pranksters jumping up out of nowhere. Watch Sam Smith get scared to death here.

Sam Smith Music, DVDs, Books and more Sam Smith T-shirts and Posters More Sam Smith News Share this article Related Stories Sam Smith's BBC PROMS Performance Getting Record Store Day Release Sam Smith Celebrates Valentine's Day With 'Love Is A Stillness' Late Night Savior and Royal Bliss Turn Sam Smith Hit Metal