Simon Cowell reflected on his final meeting with Liam Payne and the emotional fallout that followed the former One Direction singer’s death during a new episode of the Rolling Stone Music Now podcast. Payne died on Oct. 16, 2024, after falling from a third-story balcony at a hotel in Buenos Aires. He was 31.
Cowell said the last time they saw each other was about a year before the tragedy, when Payne visited his home. Their conversation focused largely on Payne’s son, Bear, and the pressures of navigating adulthood and fame. Cowell recalled encouraging Liam to seek fulfillment beyond music and to stop allowing his career to consume every part of his life.
The longtime judge and music executive admitted he has struggled with questions about whether his decisions early in Payne’s career — including forming One Direction on The X Factor — played any role in the singer’s later challenges. He said Payne’s parents reassured him that Liam was proud of everything he accomplished and that music meant the world to him.
Cowell emphasized he did not sense anything alarming when they last spoke, describing Payne as grounded and in a positive frame of mind. The news of Liam’s death, he said, hit him harder than nearly anything aside from losing his own parents.
When asked about online comments blaming him for Payne’s struggles, Cowell said he avoids social media entirely to protect his mental health. He called the idea that he could be responsible for someone’s life a decade after signing them “impossible,” adding that he always remained available whenever Payne wanted to talk.
Cowell also spoke more broadly about his concern for young artists navigating fame in a world shaped by social media, which he believes has intensified pressure and unhappiness for many people. He said he shut off his own phone eight years ago for that reason.
After Payne’s death, Cowell posted a heartfelt tribute on Instagram expressing his grief and love for the singer, writing that he was “devastated” and “heartbroken,” and that Liam would always be remembered with deep affection.
SOURCE: Billboard