Brave Liam Payne admits ‘I don’t know if I’ve hit rock bottom yet’ as heartbreaking clip resurfaces after hotel tragedy
A HEARTBREAKING clip of Liam Payne bravely admitting his struggles with fame and mental health has resurfaced after the star’s tragic death.
The One Direction star passed away aged 31 after falling to his death from a hotel in Buenos Aires, Argentina.
And as the world mourns the loss of the beloved singer, a video of Liam’s candid interview on The Diary of a CEO podcast in 2021 showed the extent of the pain he endured behind closed doors.
The Brit opened up about the overwhelming pressures he faced during his rise to fame with One Direction, admitting that he was unsure whether he had already reached rock bottom.
“I was worried how far my rock bottom was going to be. Where’s rock bottom for me? And you would never have seen it. I’m very good at hiding it,” he confessed.
“I don’t even know if I’ve hit it yet.
“I can either make that choice now and pick my last moment as my rock bottom or I can make a whole new low.”
The Wolverhampton-born star first stepped into the public eye as a teenager, auditioning for The X Factor at the age of 14.
His second appearance on the show, two years later, led to the formation of One Direction, a group that would go on to dominate the music charts worldwide.
Despite their success, Liam often spoke about the dark side of fame, revealing how the constant media attention and pressure from being in the spotlight took a significant toll on his mental health.
One of the more painful admissions from Liam’s interview was his battle with alcohol, which began during his time with the band.
It comes as:
- Liam’s cause of death was released by medics
- A heartbreaking 911 call from worried hotel staff was revealed
- Cops are reportedly set to hunt for a drug dealer
- The star’s ex says he “predicted his early death”
- Liam’s girlfriend revealed why she left Argentina
- Simon Cowell cancelled BGT auditions after Liam’s death
As One Direction skyrocketed to fame, the group members were often confined to hotel rooms, where mini-bars were their only outlet.
“The best way to secure us was to lock us in our rooms, and what is in the room? A mini-bar,” the ex-1D band-member told the podcast.
“So I had a party-for-one that seemed to carry on for many years of my life.”
Liam was brutally honest about his health issues in recent years.
His journey through fame came with its costs as he disclosed that he had suffered from social anxiety and struggled to maintain his mental well-being while under immense pressure.
Despite the joyful moments of his meteoric rise to fame, Liam’s struggles with mental health, addiction, and the weight of his stardom were a constant undercurrent.
He had been working on his sobriety in recent years, candidly discussing his difficult relationship with alcohol.
He admitted that he spent time in a US wellness clinic after he “hit rock bottom”.
He also told how a mystery respiratory illness left him floored in 2021.
Liam admitted turning to alcohol and drugs to hide how he struggled to cope with One Direction’s dizzying levels of fame — which would spark panic attacks and high levels of exhaustion.
Comment: Howell Davies on Liam Payne
by Howell Davies, Associate Bizarre Editor
LIAM was warm, a little bit goofy and the dad – figuratively, not literally – in One Direction, who always kept everyone in check and gave the people what they wanted.
He was the spokesperson of the group, speaking up while the others fooled around or shrunk into the background.
I interviewed him lots of times over the years, first of all back in December 2014 when I was a fledgling reporter and he was still one fifth of the world’s most famous boyband.
On that night at the BBC Music Awards in West London, they squeezed onto a sofa and Liam spoke animatedly while his bandmate Zayn Malik barely said a word.
He was friendly and the most professional of the group because he knew his role was to hold things together.
You could tell he was eager to please, even then.
But I would hear whispers from behind the scenes that all was not well.
He was abusing alcohol and his love life was a rollercoaster.
Things came to a head in the final year of One Direction and those working around him made it clear that it was a relief he would finally have some time off to be a normal guy in his early twenties – after years spent pin-balling across the glove in a haze of screams from fans.
It was shocking to me that at 22 he had been in the industry for years and years, while I, just a year older, was only just starting my career.
I still felt like a kid, but he was one of the most talked-about people in the world.
He came across as erratic in interviews by making bizarre claims, including that Cowell built One Direction around his talents and that his solo career has been the most successful of all his bandmates.
The star died instantly from multiple injuries including a fractured skull after tragically falling from a third-floor hotel balcony.
Emergency services rushed to the scene at the Casa Sur in Buenos Aires on Wednesday evening but Liam was declared dead.
Cops found Liam dead in the hotel’s inner courtyard at around 5pm local time (9pm UK time) when they arrived.
A post-mortem is expected to be carried out later today in Buenos Aires.
Heartbroken fans have gathered outside the hotel for candlelit vigils with many leaving flowers and hand-written messages fixed to a tree.
A bouquet of white carnations was decorated with a heart-shaped ornament which said: “Te Amo” – “I Love You” in Spanish.
The singer was in Buenos Aires for pal and former One Direction bandmate Niall Horan’s tour.
Liam had shared a post on Snapchat only minutes before his death showing himself with his girlfriend Kate Cassidy looking into a mirror.
Tributes have poured in for the singer with celebrities and fans alike sharing their heartbreak.
Harry Styles‘ mum shared a heartbreaking tribute on Instagram writing in the caption: “Just a boy…”.
And Liam’s ex-fiancée Maya Henry was ” in shock” in the wake of the tragic news.
Tributes to Liam Payne
SHOCKED fans have started to flood Liam Payne's last Instagram post with sad tributes as news of the singer's death emerges.
Broadcaster Rylan Clark said RIP Liam: “Extremely sad news. V tragic and so young.”
Charlie Puth, who was friends with Liam and also collaborated with him on a song called Bedroom Floor, has posted a series of Instagram stories dedicated to him.
Alongside photos of the two of them together in their younger days, Charlie wrote: “I am in shock right now. Liam was always so kind to me.
“He was one of the first major artists I got to work with. I can not believe he is gone…
“I am so upset right now, may he rest in peace. I am so sorry…”
German DJ Anton Zaslavski, otherwise known as Zedd, has taken to X with a devastated statement.
The producer, who worked with Liam on his 2017 hit Get Low, wrote: “RIP Liam… I can’t believe this is real…absolutely heartbreaking…”
Irish singer duo Jedward also took to social media, saying: “RIP Liam Payne. Condolences to friends and family.”
In another tweet, they added: “Sending strength to Cheryl and his son Bear. And all the One direction Family. RIP Liam Payne.”
American media personality Paris Hilton shared: “So upsetting to hear the news of Liam Payne passing. Sending love and condolences to his family & loved ones. RIP my friend.”