Louis Tomlinson isn’t holding back. The former One Direction star, 33, has admitted he will never forgive Logan Paul for a controversial interview with the late Liam Payne, calling the influencer a “horrible little f***er.”
“I f***ing forever despise [Paul], horrible, horrible little f***er,” Tomlinson fumed in an Independent interview published on Saturday, October 18.
The feud stems from Payne’s appearance on Paul’s “Impaulsive” podcast in May 2022, during which the singer made comments about his former bandmates that ignited fan outrage. Payne claimed he was essentially the band leader and revealed tension with Zayn Malik and Tomlinson, even alleging that one member “threw [him] up a wall” during a backstage argument.
Tomlinson addressed the backlash, confirming that Payne did, in fact, hold a leadership role within One Direction. “It was, definitely,” he said. “It was definitely a role that was assigned to him. That is the truth.”
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He praised Payne for his experience and professionalism, noting that the late singer had performed at Wolverhampton Wanderers halftime shows while the others were still cutting their teeth on smaller school gigs. Tomlinson had even called Payne the most “vital” part of the band in a tribute shared after his death.
“In between him playing that role and also doing a huge chunk of the songwriting… it’s not even up for debate,” Tomlinson said.
Despite Payne issuing multiple apologies in the months following the interview, Tomlinson remains frustrated with Paul for giving a platform to the singer’s comments. Payne had first reached out to Malik in June 2022 via X, writing:
“Listening back maybe I didn’t articulate myself as well as I could have. I was saying that there will always be things we disagree on but that I will always, always be on his side. That’s family. Zayn is my brother and I will stand by him forever.”
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He later extended a similar olive branch to Tomlinson in March 2023, admitting he had been “out of [his] mind” while drinking whiskey on the podcast:
“I feel ashamed in those moments to not be as good of a friend as you have been to me. At least I have time now and I’m me again so will try and make amends.”
In July 2023, Payne revealed he had spent 100 days in rehab to reflect on the fallout from his remarks, admitting in a YouTube video that much of his anger had been misdirected:
“A lot of what I said came from the wrong place… I decided to look outwards at everybody else, which is just wrong, really.”
Tragically, Payne died in October 2024 after falling from a third-floor hotel balcony in Buenos Aires, Argentina, at the age of 31. A toxicology report later confirmed the presence of alcohol, cocaine, and prescription antidepressants in his system, and two people have been charged with supplying him with drugs.
