Simon Cowell Responds to Claims He Should Be Blamed for Liam Payne’s Death

Simon Cowell is speaking out on the death of his former pupil Liam Payne.

66-year-old Cowell was asked rolling stone music now In a new interview on the podcast he talked about the fact that some people blame him for Payne’s 2024 death, claiming he put too much pressure on One Direction and failed to provide enough support when they made it big.

Cowell said, “I don’t read any of this because if I did, you’d torture yourself.” “The idea that 10 years after you sign someone that you’re essentially responsible for someone’s life? You can’t do that.”

The music executive was its producer. x factor, Competition series on which One Direction appeared in 2010. When the show ended, the group signed to Cowell’s Syco Records label, and their star rose from there.

Payne’s former bandmate Louis Tomlinson has long said that the group – which also included Harry Styles, Zayn Malik and Niall Horan – were always taken care of by the adults around them.

“Look, in any situation like this, foresight is a really powerful thing,” he said. Independent In October. “I don’t blame anyone for my experience in One Direction. Was it really hard work? Yes. Didn’t we have enough time off? Yes.”

Cowell said rolling stone When he learned of Payne’s death, which occurred almost a year after last seeing the singer, it “really hit me”.

During the conversation, he discussed fatherhood and his children; Payne was father to son Bear, now 8, with ex Cheryl, while Cowell had son Eric, 11, with his fiancée Lauren Silverman.

“I remember saying, ‘Music isn’t everything. Don’t let it rule your life anymore. Find something else you’re passionate about,'” Cowell told Payne. “You ask yourself this question: ‘Could I have done something else? What would have happened to Liam if he wasn’t in the band?'”

Cowell said he had recently spoken to Payne’s parents Geoff and Karen, who reiterated that they are “very proud of what their son has achieved.”

He said, “I wish I could turn back the clock. When I talked to her that day, I felt really good about her.” “I thought, ‘Wow, you seem to be in a really good place.'”

Payne was 31 when he fell from a hotel balcony and died in Buenos Aires, Argentina in October 2024. A toxicology report revealed that he had traces of alcohol, cocaine and prescription antidepressants in his system when he died.

Tomlinson told Independent Payne’s death is “something I’ll never really accept, I don’t think.”

He said, “Liam was always entertaining me. If I was bored and wanted to laugh, he would play that role.” “Any opportunity Liam got… he was always, always there for me. Even though he was struggling, he put himself second and still came through. Those moments are really a testament to the truth of who he was as a person.”