Louis Tomlinson says he will "forever despise" Logan Paul after viral Liam Payne interview

20 October 2025, 13:23 | Updated: 20 October 2025, 13:28

By Sam Prance

Liam Payne spent 100 days in rehab after the Logan Paul interview sparked controversy online.

Louis Tomlinson has called out Logan Paul for the way that he treated Liam Payne in a controversial podcast interview.

In May 2022, Liam Payne appeared as a guest on Logan Paul's Impaulsive podcast and the appearance was met with backlash online. In the interview, Liam talked flippantly about a fight that he had with one his bandmates, said there were "many reasons" why he disliked Zayn and claimed that he was the "lead member" of One Direction.

Liam later apologised for his comments and revealed that he spent 100 days in rehab after the trolling and negativity that he received in the wake of the episode. Following Liam's death in 2024, fans criticised Logan Paul for failing to take Liam's mental health into account and posting the episode without considering the consequences.

Now, Louis Tomlinson has stated that he will "forever despise" Logan Paul and his lack of "duty of care" for Liam.

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Speaking to The Independent about Liam's Logan Paul interview, Louis said: "I f---ing forever despise [Logan Paul]." He then added: "Horrible, horrible little f---er. I think that’s also the problem with some of this new ‘media’. I would like to think most journalists” – he corrects himself – "some journalists have a duty of care."

Louis also defended Liam's claims that Simon Cowell originally positioned him as the lead member of One Direction. Lous revealed: "It was definitely a role that was assigned to him. That is the truth. In between him playing that role and also doing a huge chunk of the songwriting…it’s not even up for debate."

Back in 2022, Louis defended Liam. Talking to Zach Sang, he said: "All I will say on that is… which of those annoying Paul brothers was it? [Logan Paul] knew exactly what he was doing, the buttons he was pressing, and that’s what I took away from it. It just felt disrespectful. And they got so much out of it, as if he ain’t got enough already."

He added: "I f---ing hate them Paul brothers."

Read more about One Direction here:

• One Direction release emotional joint statement following the loss of their "brother" Liam Payne
• Louis Tomlinson addresses One Direction reunion after Liam Payne's passing
• Zayn pays emotional tribute to Liam Payne on 10th anniversary of leaving One Direction
• Niall Horan explains the surprising meaning behind his You Could Start a Cult lyrics
• Louis Tomlinson accidentally ‘married’ a fan while signing autographs

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