Louis Tomlinson isn’t known for big celebrity feuds but there’s one famous face he just cannot stand: Logan Paul.
He revealed in a new interview that he will ‘forever despise’ the internet personality after a controversial chat with Liam Payne.
In 2022, Payne appeared on Logan’s podcast, drink in hand, and blasted Zayn Malik while admitting he had thrown his former One Direction bandmate ‘up a wall’.
The star, who died at the age of 31 on October 16, 2024, was called ‘arrogant’ by fans as he claimed he was ‘de facto leader’ of the band.
He later apologised for his words and revealed he spent 100 days in rehab after the interview.
‘I f***ing forever despise [Logan Paul], horrible, horrible little f***er,’ Louis, 33, told the Independent.
He continued: ‘I think that’s also the problem with some of this new “media”. I would like to think most journalists… some journalists have a duty of care.’
However, Louis acknowledged that there was truth to Payne’s statement that he had ended up as the leader.
‘It was, definitely,’ he said. ‘It was definitely a role that was assigned to him. That is the truth.’
Discussing the sudden loss of his friend, who fell from a third-floor hotel balcony in Buenos Aires, Argentina, Louis said he would ‘never accept it’.
Recently, while on Steven Bartlett’s Diary of a CEO podcast, the Walls singer shared that it was Niall Horan who broke the devastating news to him.
Payne wasn’t Louis’ first experience of intense grief. In December 2016, Louis’ mother Johannah Deakin died of leukaemia at the age of 43, and three years later, in March 2019, his younger sister Félicité, 18, died from an accidental overdose.
‘I had the same feeling that I had with Félicité, and I think anyone has this when they’re around someone who’s struggling; my 150% wasn’t nearly enough,’ Louis said.
‘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. He was definitely struggling at that time in his life.’
The History hitmaker said Payne was the ‘closest thing to a brother’ and he was ‘always’ worried about him.
Payne had been public about his mental health struggles in the years before his death, finding the pressures of fame overwhelming.
In a 2019 Sky documentary, he told Ant Middleton: ‘Like you say, when things start to pile on top of each other, that’s when it can really get you.
‘You’ve really got to change your view about it. There’s only one thing you control in that situation, it’s you.’
The day after Payne’s death, One Direction released a joint statement on social media in which Louis and his other bandmates Harry Styles, Zayn and Niall said they were ‘completely devastated’.
On the first anniversary of his death, his sisters Nicola Payne and Ruth Gibbins paid tribute to the late star on Instagram, with Ruth admitting she is still ‘paralysed’ by grief daily.
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