Louis Tomlinson has opened up about the moment he found out Liam Payne had died, almost a year on from the star’s death.
One Direction star Liam passed away on October 16, 2024, after falling from his hotel balcony in Argentina. He was 31 years old.
Louis Tomlinson on Liam Payne’s death
Louis, 33, opened up during an appearance on Stephen Bartlett’s Diary of a CEO podcast, which was released earlier today (Thursday, October 9).
During the podcast, Louis spoke about his life and career, before, during, and after his time with One Direction. He also spoke about grieving for his mother, his sister and Liam.
“Where were you when you found out [about Liam’s death]?” Stephen asked Louis.
“In the car in LA, and I’d just dropped – I’m pretty sure, again, my memory isn’t good at these moments of time – but I think I’d just dropped Freddie off at school. My son. And we were just about to pull back up home,” he said.
“Yeah, I think that’s how it went down.”
Louis talks about finding out
The musician continued, saying: “It was actually…I found out through Niall [Horan].
“He told me. And then…and yeah. As soon as…I think Niall said something like: ‘Have you seen the news?’, and I knew as soon as he said that, I kind of knew what it might have meant,” he then said.
“I had the same feeling as I had with Felicity,” he said. Felicity, Louis’ younger sister, passed away in 2019, aged 18. A coroner ruled she had died accidentally from a fatal combination of drugs. Her death came three years after the death of their mother, Joannah, who died from leukemia in 2016.
“You know, and anyone has this [feeling] when they’re around someone who’s struggling,” he then continued.
“My 150% wasn’t nearly enough. And that’s where we, you know, my own arrogance, thinking I could have helped, really,” he then said. “Because it was so much deeper than what I could have done for him.
“He was definitely struggling at that time in his life.”
‘I was cross with the world’
During an interview with Rolling Stone magazine earlier this week, Louis admitted that losing Liam was “incredibly hard” for him.
“It was impossibly difficult for me to deal with losing him. I had never experienced losing a friend before,” he said.
“He was just a very misunderstood person, I think, from a public perspective. If there is ever any judgement on his character, nine times out of ten, you can reflect on that. And the reflection is that he was someone who just wanted to be liked,” he then continued.
Louis also admitted that he wasn’t the best with the public after Liam died. He was once spoken about by Robbie Williams, who met a flight attendant on a plane, and they told him he was nicer than Louis, as he had declined taking a photo with them. At the time, Robbie stood up for Louis. However, now Louis has admitted he didn’t handle the situation the best.
“I was right in the middle of my grief. I felt cross with the world, to be honest. What’s tough in that situation is that you know there’s no other answer other than: ‘Sorry, I’m being a [bleep]’,” he said.
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