Liam Payne’s fans feared for the singer’s health in the years leading up to his shock death following a string of worrying signs that his life had spiralled out of control.
The singer, who has died age 31, was reported to be acting ‘erratically’ hours before his death and the star’s inner circle were recently said to be fearful for his welfare.
The star’s loyal fan base have also raised their concerns for the troubled star, following a series of concerning displays including an erratic red carpet appearance, shock hospitalisation, cancelled gigs and rambling videos.
Fans of the One Direction star had noted Liam’s bizarre behaviour during recent appearances, which included attending his former bandmate’s concert in Argentina just days ago where he was asked to stop dancing by a security guard.
Another worrying video shows Liam looking strained as he greeted fans, signing autographs and singing his song Familiar, as critics commented on the clip that he looked ‘out of it’.
Liam Payne ‘s fans feared for the singer’s health in the years leading up to his death following a string of erractic appearances which sparked concern
In recent years, the singer has suffered a series of bizarre onscreen appearances, most famously, a strange interview after the 2022 Academy Awards when he was asked about Will Smith slapping Chris Rock on stage
WORRYING CLIPS DAYS BEFORE DEATH
Just days before his death, Liam was filmed at Niall’s concert dancing erratically and being spoken to by a security guard as he gesticulated wildly in his private box.
The video, which has been widely shared on TikTok, shows Liam performing to fans in front of him at the concert before being spoken to the guard.
Liam was leading a macarena routine before the gig started, but worried fans noted how the guard was trying to ‘move him on’.
Fans have now called his behaviour a sad cry for help by the star.
One user in the comments section wrote: ‘This was a cry for help I’m sure of it,’ while another agreed and replied: ‘Finally now people are saying this but it’s too late.’
Another social media clip shows Liam greeting fans in Argentina, singing songs and singing autographs for them.
However, it didn’t go unnoticed by social media sleuths that Liam appeared out of sorts during the appearance as they voiced their fears for the star.
In the comments section of the post, fans shared their sadness that the ‘signs were there’ before Liam’s untimely passing.
They said: ‘Bruh the signs were there’; ‘He looks so sad inside, but you all make him feel so loved and appreciated’; ‘Imagine meeting him on the day before he passes away, I’m sobbing’; and ‘You can literally see the sadness, the pain and depression in his eyes. Reminds me of my friend before she passed away.’
Just days before his death, Liam was filmed at Niall’s dancing erratically and being spoken to by a security guard as he gesticulate wildly in his private box
RAMBLING VIDEO
Earlier this month, Liam shared a bizarre video on his Snapchat, where he claimed he and his One Direction bandmate Niall ‘needed to talk’.
Sharing a video from bed, Liam spoke about how he was going to see Niall in concert in Argentina, saying: ‘Niall Horan’s playing down there and I think we might just go and say ‘Elloooo!’.
He continued: ‘No bad vibes or anything like that, but we need to talk!’
Commenting on the video, one fan said: ‘Is he okay? Like genuinely?’
This one was concerned: ‘I hope Liam has people who care about him around him.’
A source said to The Sun: ‘Liam’s behaviour has been concerning many in his inner circle for months. For a while things seemed to be looking up for him but over the past year there are fears he is spiralling.
‘He’s no longer around some of his old friends as he’s relocated to America to start a new life out there.’
‘Everyone wants the best for him but things are erratic to say the least.’
Liam shared a bizarre video on his Snapchat , where he claimed he and his One Direction bandmate Niall ‘needed to talk
CANCELLED GIGS AFTER BEING HOSPITALISED
Last year, Liam’s fans shared their concern after he cancelled his tour of South America after being hospitalised with a kidney infection.
He shared the news with his followers in an Instagram video, after being ordered to ‘rest and recover’ by doctors.
Captioning the post, Liam wrote: ‘It’s with a heavy heart I have to tell you that we have no other choice but to postpone my upcoming tour of South America.
‘Over the past week I’ve been in hospital with a serious kidney infection, it’s something I wouldn’t wish on anyone, and doctors orders are that I now need to rest and recover.
‘I was beyond excited to come play for you guys. To all of you who have bought tickets: I’m so sorry.
Last year, Liam’s fans shared their concern after he cancelled his tour of South America after being hospitalised with a kidney infection
Sad news: The One Direction star shared the news with his followers in an Instagram video on Friday, after being ordered to ‘rest and recover’ by doctors
‘We’re working to re-schedule the tour as soon as we possibly can, but for now we will be refunding the tickets – so please look out for updates from your point of purchase.
‘Thanks as always for the love and support, and look forward to seeing you soon.’
Sharing a video to announce the news, Liam added: ‘This really is the last news I want to be telling you but basically I’ve been a little bit unwell recently.
‘I ended up in hospital with a bad kidney infection. We started rehearsals and I’ve been advised that now is really not the right time to be travelling on the road while I recover from this.
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‘I’ve got the best people around me at home trying to help me recover as we speak, but yeah we’re gonna have to reschedule the tour.’
Following the news about his condition, his mother Karen shared that she felt ‘helpless’ and was ‘worried sick’.
She told at the time: ‘We are all worried sick about it but we just have to get on. It’s horrible – him being all the way over there.
‘He’s in Milan and it sounds like he’ll be there for a week. I feel helpless.’
She continued: ‘All we can really do is sit it out here and hope for the best. There is nothing we can do. We feel helpless.’
Karen added that it was ‘such a horrible situation’ and that she hopes he’s in the best place for treatment.
ERRATIC RED CARPET DISPLAY
In recent years, the singer has suffered a series of bizarre onscreen appearances, most famously, a strange interview after the 2022 Academy Awards when he was asked about Will Smith slapping Chris Rock on stage.
He was speaking live from the red carpet at the Elton John AIDS Foundation’s annual Academy Awards viewing party at West Hollywood Park where he defended his friend Will Smith for slapping Chris Rock earlier in the night.
However, the exchange left viewers scratching their heads when he debuted a ‘valley’ twang – before admitting he hadn’t even been on US soil for two years.
In a video posted to Twitter only six days prior to promote Unicef’s Soccer Aid, the Night Changes hitmaker speaks with a notably British accent.
Weighing in on the controversy, Liam claimed how there had been ‘three losers in one fight’, adding, ‘He had the right to do what he did’.
He also reminisced on his friendship with the two men, revealing that Will had been his neighbour and claiming he had known Chris since he was a teenager.
Not only did his words confuse viewers as his analysis of the situation was broadcast on UK morning television; but his accent too.
Viewers at home rushed to their keyboards to share their surprise at Liam’s twang, writing, ‘OMG what is this accent? Sort it out Liam, cringe [laughing emoji].’
‘What’s with the accent and what was he actually saying? Rambling word salad.’
‘The Accent Police are out in full force over this clip.’
The clip quickly generated just as much interest as the onstage slap itself as Liam found himself at the centre of an internet storm.
He later clarified he’d had ‘a lot to drink’ on the night in question; but added he is a ‘social chameleon’ whose accent is ‘ever-changing’ depending on who he is around, before insisting he is normally ‘good at accents’.
INTERVIEW BACKLASH
During the interview on the Impaulsive first recorded in the summer of 2022, Liam again worried fans when he took aim at his former bandmate Zayn Malik, causing enough backlash he revealed he did not leave his home for three months.
He suggested his solo career had been the most successful of all the band members and also claimed One Direction was formed around him in the first place.
When asked for his thoughts about Zayn, Liam branded him a ‘d***’ and discussed a post by Malik’s then-girlfriend Gigi Hadid about how her partner was ‘respectful’.
The comment has been interpreted by fans as a reference to the allegation that Gigi’s mother Yolanda Hadid made last year, that Zayn had shoved her into a dresser and called her a ‘f***ing Dutch sl*t’.
During the interview on the Impaulsive first recorded in the summer of 2022, Liam again worried fans when he took aim at his former bandmate Zayn Malik, causing enough backlash he revealed he did not leave his home for three months
Liam continued to talk about Zayn, saying there were ‘many reasons why I dislike Zayn’ but that he will ‘always be on his side’ because of Zayn’s alleged tough upbringing.
He said: ‘There’s many reasons why I dislike Zayn and there’s many reasons why I’ll always, always be on his side.
‘If I had had to go through what he went through, through his growth and whatever else. You know are your parents very supportive?
‘My parents are overly supportive to the point where it’s annoying at times and they don’t even mind me saying that. And Zayn had a different upbringing in that sense.’
Although he appeared to claim he had sympathy with Zayn and cared for the ex-One Direction member, he received enormous backlash from fans over his comments.
The criticism was so fierce that Liam tweeted a public apology to Zayn later that year, saying he had a ‘chip on my shoulder’ and ‘took it out on everyone else’.
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He added that he ‘loves my boys’ appearing to refer to the One Direction members – Niall Horan, Harry Styles, Zayn and Louis.
Liam said that the criticism had led to things going ‘quite dark’ for him and that he didn’t leave his house for three months, but that he was able to laugh at the jokes.
SUICIDAL THOUGHTS
In July 2023, Liam opened up about his mental health and revealed doctors diagnosed him with ‘a couple of conditions’ after he spent some time in a wellness clinic in the US last year after hitting ‘rock bottom’.
He shared a candid Instagram post to his Story in which he said he was having a tough day and family and friends could see he was still struggling.
Liam described ‘manic’ instances in his life and his difficulty in staying sober during ‘super low’ moments.
In the clip he admitted to having filmed the video numerous times before deleting it, before finally deciding this was the right time to share his story with his fans.
He said: ‘So I mean I filmed a bunch for theses over time and deleted them but I don’t know whether this is the right time.’
‘I know in my last video I mentioned I’d been diagnosed with a couple of conditions and I will not to go into too much detail, but one of them I have is, there’s a lot of manic things in my life which you guys saw.’
In July 2023, Liam opened up about his mental health and revealed doctors diagnosed him with ‘a couple of conditions’ after he spent some time in a wellness clinic in the US last year after hitting ‘rock bottom’
He continued: ‘But the other side of it is and that kind of feels like when when I would lose my sobriety in these moments that were super low and I felt like that today.
‘And it’s isolating the two things and seeing them separately and like I know what they are now’.
‘Luckily I have some amazing people around me that kind of look after me but I am sure they can see it in me too that I’m ‘not really here.”’
He captioned the clip: ‘I’ve filmed this same video about 20 times at different points this year and got too scared to put it out by talking myself out of it’.
‘I’m coming to see how fortunate I am to be in the position I’m in… and I wanna give any of you struggling the gift I was given by sharing some of the things I learned form specialists whilst I was away’.
‘First thing I did everyday was check in and its important you don’t bottle up how you feel. Feeling is one of the amazing gifts we had and I blocked things up so long it made me sick and lash out… notice it, allow it to happen and let it pass through. I hope this helps,’ he concluded.
It wasn’t the first time Liam had been candid about his mental health struggles after previously opening up in 2019 about battling suicidal thoughts.
At the time he claimed he was ‘lucky to still be here’.
It wasn’t the first time Liam had been candid about his mental health struggles after previously opening up in 2019 about battling suicidal thoughts
He appeared on Straight Talking with Ant Middleton, where he opened up about his mental health and fame
He appeared on Straight Talking with Ant Middleton, where he opened up about his mental health and fame.
When asked about his ‘darker’ moments, Liam said: ‘Fame is like having a weird midlife crisis. I am lucky to be here still.’
Asked by Ant to elaborate, Liam was reluctant at first. ‘I can’t go too deep into it, I haven’t made my peace with it…’ he said.
‘There’s times where that level of loneliness and people getting into you every day every so often… that’s almost nearly killed me a couple of times.
‘I’ve been in a bad place… it’s been on the menu a couple of times in my life. Luckily I had great people around me. When things start to pile up on you it can get you, and you can only control you. You have to get on with it
‘You think there’ll be another hurdle in a couple of months, you just need to get on with it. It’s always turned out alright, even in the darkest situations.’