Liam Payne‘s death shocked fans from all over the world. It was immediately linked to the musician’s mental health problems, which were brought up by his ex-fiancée, a week before the tragedy. It was reported that Liam had multiple drugs in his system when he died after falling from a hotel balcony on October 16.
Authorities have since charged three people for “abandonment of a person followed by death, supply, and facilitation of narcotics.” Liam had been open about his sobriety struggles, which started during his One Direction days. He and Justin Bieber even bonded over those issues after their fan-fueled feud. Here’s a closer look at Liam’s “abusive relationship” with One Direction.
Liam Payne Drank A Lot During His “Abusive Relationship” With Fame From One Direction
In July 2021, Liam went on Steve Bartlett’s The Diary of a CEO podcast where he opened up about his complicated relationship with fame. Reflecting on his One Direction popularity, he recalled being “locked” in their rooms, which made it easy for him to turn to alcohol. “When we were in the band the best way to secure us because of how big it got was just to lock us in our rooms and, of course, what’s in the room, minibar,” he recalled.
So, at a certain point, I thought, ‘Well I’m going to have a party for one,’ and that just seemed to carry on through many years of my life.
Looking back, Liam couldn’t believe how “young” he was during those difficult times. He was just 17 when he joined the band, but for him, drinking “was the only way you could get frustration out in the day.” As a famous boyband star, he felt like security guards were “in charge” of him. He then likened it to an “abusive relationship.”
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And like all “toxic” relationships, Liam admitted he became an “angry person” back then. “Eventually that becomes an angry person and I was because there were points when it was toxic and it was difficult,” he explained. “Don’t get me wrong we had the best time ever, but there were moments.” During the interview, the singer said he’d only been sober for over a month.
Liam Payne Had Disagreements And Physical Fights With His One Direction Bandmates
In June 2022, Liam talked about the time he “came into blows” with a One Direction member during an appearance on Logan Paul’s Impaulsive podcast. “There was one moment where there was an argument backstage and one member, in particular, threw me up a wall,” he said of the altercation that started with “talking s–t.” which he hated.
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He continued: “So I said to him, ‘If you don’t remove those hands there’s a high likelihood you’ll never use them again.” Liam drew flak as fans defended his 1D bandmate, Zayn Malik. The former then took to Twitter to clarify his statement: “They mentioned a specific incident involving Zayn which I responded to – but listening back maybe I didn’t articulate myself as well as I could have.”
I was saying that there will always be things we disagree on but that I will always, always be on his side. That’s family. Zayn is my brother and I will stand by him forever.
In July 2023, Zayn famously said the band broke up because they got “sick of each other.” Speaking with Alex Cooper on the Call Her Daddy podcast, the “Pillowtalk” performer confessed “there was obviously underlying issues” within the group’s friendship after having been “together every day for five years.”
Liam Payne’s Relationship With Every One Direction Member Before His Death | |
Louis Tomlinson | Liam and Louis were “the best of friends within the band.” The former credited his former bandmate for “[dragging him] out of something dark” in 2023. |
Harry Styles | In 2021, Liam said Harry had developed a “sixth sense” for his dark times and that he knew when to check on him. |
Niall Horan | On October 2, Liam posted a photo with Niall captioned “Reunited” in Buenos Aires, Argentina, hours after posting on Snapchat: “I would like to square up a couple things with the boy (Niall). No bad vibes or anything like that, but just we need to talk.” |
Zayn Malik | Liam said on Impaulsive: “There are many reasons I dislike Zayn, and there are many reasons why I’ll always be on his side.” |
In 2019, Liam set the record straight on his relationship with his fellow One Direction members. “I think people have a misconception that we were all just massive mates and whatever else; it’s not the case,” he told Sunday Brunch at that time. “But, you know, there’s no bad blood between anyone.”
Liam Payne Felt Lost After One Direction Broke Up
Navigating fame at such a young age was already a huge challenge for Liam. But it got “dark and twisted” when the band broke up. The Teardrops hitmaker opened up about it on The Diary of a CEO, saying: “It’s like what I found was I didn’t know I was the boss until like a few months ago. I still don’t even feel like I am now.”
Like I’m such a child. And everyone I work with is like older than me and wiser than me.
Following his death, fans started a Change.org petition for “Liam’s Law,” which aims to “necessitate regular mental health check-ups, adequate rest periods, and the presence of mental health professionals on-set, including any ongoing support during their career.” Liam previously opened up about the lack of mental health support in the industry.
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“There have been a lot of people in trouble with mental health that aren’t really getting the help that they need, and I think that’s a bit of a problem in our industry,” Liam told Men’s Health Australia in 2019. “… You know what the traps are and if you are lucky enough, like me, to be able to get out of that scenario and back into a sense of normality, then you know it’s a bit different.”
Liam Payne
Stay up to date with our coverage of Liam Payne by reading our latest articles that feature him and topics surrounding his life and death.
- Birthname
- Liam James Payne
- Birthdate
- August 29, 1993
- Birthplace
- Wolverhampton, West Midlands
- Deathdate
- October 16, 2024
- Net worth
- $70,000,000
- Professions
- Musician
- Nationality
- British
