Louis Tomlinson has slammed YouTuber Logan Paul over his controversial 2022 interview with Tomlinson’s former One Direction bandmate Liam Payne.
Tomlinson took aim at Paul while discussing fame, responsibility, and how social media has changed the way artists are treated during an interview with The Independent.
The singer, 33, said he still resents Paul for the “Impaulsive” episode in which Payne appeared to drink whiskey while making negative remarks about his former bandmates and suggesting Simon Cowell had built One Direction around him.
“I f—ing forever despise [Paul], horrible, horrible little f—er,” Tomlinson said.
“I think that’s also the problem with some of this new ‘media’ … I would like to think most journalists,” he added, before correcting himself, “some journalists have a duty of care.”
Payne later apologized for his comments, admitting in a 2023 YouTube video that the podcast had been a mistake.
“The boys really stuck by me when I needed them most, they kinda came to the rescue,” he said. “Even Zayn [Malik], as well, which is why I did send him a little thank you online.”
“It came across really big-headed, didn’t it?”
He described the interview as “a big ‘L’ and not the Liam kind” and revealed he spent 100 days in rehab afterward.
Tomlinson told The Independent that Payne had been right about his role in the band.
“It was definitely a role that was assigned to him. That is the truth,” he said, recalling that Payne entered One Direction with more stage experience.
“He’d already played at halftime [at a Wolverhampton Wanderers game]; we’d done s—ty school shows.”
Payne died on Oct. 16, 2024, after falling from a hotel balcony in Buenos Aires, Argentina.
He was 31 and is survived by his 8-year-old son, Bear Grey, whom he shared with singer Cheryl.
Tomlinson said Payne’s death ended any realistic chance of a One Direction reunion.
Speaking on “The Diary of a CEO” podcast earlier this month, he said, “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.”
“There are now only three other people on the planet that will deeply understand my professional journey,” he added.
Tomlinson also shared that Payne was “definitely struggling” in the time leading up to his death. He recalled learning about Payne’s death while “in the car, in LA,” after receiving a call from fellow bandmate Niall Horan.
“I had the same feeling that I had with Félicité,” Tomlinson said, referring to his younger sister who died at age 18 in 2019.
“And I think anyone has this when they’re around someone who’s struggling — my 150% wasn’t nearly enough. And that’s when it’s my own arrogance thinking that I could have helped, really, because it was so much deeper than what I could have done for him.”
Tomlinson added, “He was definitely struggling at that time in his life.”
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