- Louis Tomlinson reflected on Liam Payne's death nearly one year after his sudden passing.
- Louis called his One Direction bandmate as “misunderstood.”
- One Direction celebrated its 15th anniversary in July.
It’s hard to believe that it’s been a year since Liam Payne died after falling multiple stories from a hotel balcony. While his One Direction bandmates released statements at the time of his passing, they’ve kept their grief mostly private. Now, Louis Tomlinson is opening up about Liam’s tragic death, and the “uncomfortable” 15th anniversary of One Direction.
Louis, who is currently promoting a new solo single and gearing up to release his next album, How Did We Get Here, reflected on Liam’s death in a recent interview with Rolling Stone UK, saying, “It was really, really, impossibly difficult for me to deal with losing Liam,” he said.
He continued, “Naively, I thought that because at this point, I’m relatively well-versed in grief for my age, that might soften the blow.” Louis’ mother, Johannah Deakin, and his sister, Felicite Tomlinson, both died in the late 2010s, but—as he told Rolling Stone UK—he’d “never lost a friend before.”
This past July was particularly difficult, as it marked the 15th anniversary of One Direction. “It was really uncomfortable, actually, the 15th anniversary, because the [collective] feeling to celebrate is as important, if not more important than ever, on behalf of Liam,” he said, adding that the milestone “brought up” feelings of frustration that “he’s not with us anymore.”
Though the boys of One Direction—Louis, Liam, Zayn Malik, Harry Styles, and Niall Horan—have had their on-and-off periods, Liam and Louis appeared to have been on good terms before his death. Liam was the only member of the group to attend the premiere of Louis’ All of Those Voices documentary in 2023. At the time, Louis thanked him publicly on Twitter, writing, “Special thank you to Liam for being there for me. It means the absolute world. Love you lad!”
“He was just a very misunderstood person, I think, from a public perspective,” Louis told Rolling Stone UK. “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.”
Louis might be gearing up to release a new solo album, but he’s also embracing his 1D past. Just last week it was announced that he would be teaming up with Zayn for a new docuseries on Netflix.
