Louis Tomlinson is honoring Liam Payne’s legacy nearly a year after his tragic passing.
The 33-year-old singer opened up about his late bandmate in a heartfelt new interview with Rolling Stone UK, reflecting on Liam’s character, the intense public criticism he faced in his final years, and the personal impact of losing a friend for the first time.
“Anyone who knew him [Liam] personally would know how deeply unfair that was,” Louis told the magazine in a preview of the upcoming profile, set to drop October 9. “Anything that he got wrong in life, Liam—which, by the way, we all do daily—it was never through malice.”
Payne, who died in October 2024 at the age of 31 after a fatal fall from a Buenos Aires hotel balcony, had faced harsh backlash in the months before his death. Much of it stemmed from comments he made about his fellow One Direction bandmates—Niall Horan, Harry Styles, Zayn Malik and Tomlinson—during a 2022 appearance on the “Impaulsive “podcast. Payne later apologized publicly, but the remarks lingered online, fueling criticism from within the fandom.
Louis, however, wanted to set the record straight. “It was only through miscommunication—him just not being able to express himself in the way he needed to,” he said. “He was just a very misunderstood person, I think, from a public perspective.”
He continued, “If there is ever any judgment on his character, I think nine times out of 10, you can reflect on that, and the reflection is that he was someone who just wanted to be liked.”
Tomlinson also spoke candidly about the personal toll of Payne’s death. Having already experienced profound grief—losing his mother Johannah Deakin in 2016 and his sister Félicité Tomlinson in 2019—he admitted that Payne’s passing hit differently.
LONDON, ENGLAND – FEBRUARY 19: Zayn Malik, Harry Styles, Liam Payne, Louis Tomlinson and Niall Horan of One Direction, winner of the British Video and Global Success BRIT awards, pose in the winners room at The BRIT Awards 2014 at 02 Arena on February 19, 2014 in London, England. (Photo by Anthony Harvey/Getty Images)
“Naively, I thought that because at this point, I’m relatively well versed in grief for my age, that it might soften the blow,” he said. “Super-naive. It’s very different. I’ve never lost a friend before.”
Tomlinson’s emotional interview echoes the tribute he shared just one day after Payne’s death was confirmed last year. Posting a photo from their One Direction days, he wrote, “I am beyond devastated to be writing this but yesterday I lost a brother. For the record, Liam was in my opinion the most vital part of One Direction. His experience from a young age, his perfect pitch, his stage presence, his gift for writing. The list goes on. Thank you for shaping us Liam.”
He added at the time, “I would have loved to share the stage with you again but it wasn’t to be.”
