Louis Tomlinson has reignited a heated celebrity feud by publicly condemning an interviewer for his handling of a controversial 2022 podcast with the late Liam Payne.
In October 2024, Liam Payne died at the age of 31 after falling from a third-floor hotel balcony in Argentina. A toxicology report later confirmed the presence of alcohol, cocaine, and a prescription antidepressant in his system.
Now his former bandmate has opened up about his passing in an interview with The Independent.
Louis Tomlinson Hits Out
The singer didn’t mince words when addressing the viral Impaulsive episode with Logan Paul, accusing Paul of exploiting his former bandmate during a vulnerable time in his life.
“I f***ing forever despise [Logan Paul], horrible, horrible little f***er,” Louis told The Independent. “That’s also the problem with some of this new ‘media’. I’d like to think most journalists – some journalists – have a duty of care.”
The tension stems from Liam Payne’s appearance on Paul’s Impaulsive podcast in June 2022, which drew backlash from fans and made international headlines.
During the interview, Payne opened up about his turbulent time in One Direction, revealing behind-the-scenes conflicts and personal struggles.
He claimed that he had once been “thrown up a wall” by a fellow bandmate and admitted there were “many reasons” he “disliked” Zayn Malik. Payne also labeled Zayn a “d**k” and referenced the singer’s 2021 altercation with Yolanda Hadid.
Adding fuel to the fire, Payne suggested that he was the central figure around whom Simon Cowell had built the group. “It was, definitely. It was definitely a role that was assigned to him. That is the truth,” Louis agreed, supporting Liam’s claim.
Payne further claimed that he and Louis “hated each other” during their early years in the band - a statement Louis has acknowledged, though he admitted the video remains “hard for me to watch back.”
One Direction Reunion “Not Right” Without Liam
Speaking on The Diary Of A CEO podcast, Louis reflected on how Liam had been the driving force behind any potential band reunion.
“Never say never, right, but I’m just not sure it would be right to him [Liam],” Louis said. “Say for the sake of argument, 25 year’s time, it’s like a f*****g Oasis thing, they offer us an arm and a leg, and they’re like, ‘Come back and do this many shows’. I don’t know. It’s just completely put a pin in all of that.”
“And the irony is, there was no one campaigning for One Direction to get back more than Liam. I would say I came in a close second.”
“We All Looked Up to Him Massively”
Louis shared just how influential Liam was within the group, describing him as someone they all admired—even if they never said it out loud at the time.
“There is now only three other people on the planet that will deeply understand my professional journey,” Louis said. “When I put up my post about him [Liam], I really wanted him to be remembered the way that he should be remembered.”
“I could just go on and talk all day about how amazing he was, but I think we all looked up to him. I don’t think we would have been brave enough to say at that age when I was in the band, I think I would've had too much pride, but we all looked up to him massively.”