Louis Tomlinson had some choice words for Logan Paul in a recent interview, with the former One Direction star saying he’ll “forever despise” the YouTuber for the way he handled an interview with late bandmate Liam Payne in 2022.

In a profile for The Independent published over the weekend, Tomlinson didn’t hold back when asked about the controversial episode of Paul’s Impaulsive podcast that featured Payne — who appeared to be drinking whiskey throughout the conversation — speaking negatively of his boy-band days and shading his former bandmates. “I f—ing forever despise [Logan Paul]. Horrible, horrible little f—er,” he said of the social media star.

“I think that’s also the problem with some of this new ‘media,’” he continued. “I would like to think most journalists — some journalists have a duty of care.”

Though Tomlinson didn’t go into specifics about his issues with Paul’s interview, the singer did say that he was bothered by fan backlash to Payne saying on Impaulsive that he had been the designated leader of 1D. “It was definitely a role that was assigned to him,” he told the publication. “That is the truth.”

The interview comes just over a year after Payne — who was open about his struggles with substance abuse — died in a fall from the balcony of his fourth-floor hotel room in Argentina. Toxicology reports later found that he’d had dangerous amounts of alcohol in his system at the time of the accident.

Two years prior, Payne set the 1D fandom ablaze with his appearance on Impaulsive, during which he also said that he and Tomlinson had “hated” one another during their time in the band. “Louis was wild, and he wanted to be wild, and that’s his spirit,” Payne told Paul at the time. “Also he’s my best mate now, but in the band, we hated each other.”

But while speaking to The Independent, Tomlinson had nothing but kind words for his late friend, whose death he says has “definitely” brought the surviving members of 1D closer together. “Yeah, and the best kind of friends are the ones where, when you eventually do meet up, it’s like no time has passed,” he told the publication. “It’s also just amazing to see everyone doing so well in their own right.”


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