The One Direction star shared his thoughts on the YouTuber for the way he handled an interview with his late bandmate back in 2022

Louis Tomlinson has revealed that he will ‘forever despise’ YouTuber Logan Paul, whom he dubbed a ‘horrible f***er’ following his interview with Liam Payne back in 2022.

The former One Direction star spoke about the ordeal with the Independent over the weekend (18 October), where he shared his thoughts on the viral Impaulsive podcast, which saw the late Payne, who appeared to be drinking whiskey throughout the conversation, speaking badly of his boy-band days.

At the time of the interview, Payne received a huge backlash from fans and the media for what were perceived as ‘arrogant’ remarks regarding his role in the five-man band – claiming that Simon Cowell formed One Direction around him – and for shading his ex-bandmates, Zayn Malik, in particular.

He also claimed that he and Tomlinson had ‘hated’ one another during their time in the band, saying: “Louis was wild, and he wanted to be wild, and that’s his spirit. Also he’s my best mate now, but in the band, we hated each other.”

In the interview, Liam Payne claimed that he and Louis Tomlinson had ‘hated’ each other (Jeff Kravitz / Contributor / Getty Images)

Payne, who was open about his struggles with substance abuse, later revealed that he’d spent 100 days in rehab after the interview aired, and apologised for his remarks, saying in a YouTube video: “I was so angry at what was going on around me… I took it out on everybody else.”

Three years on from the interview, and a full year on from Payne’s tragic death on 16 October 2024, Tomlinson has shared his thoughts on the ‘horrible’ interview conducted by Paul.

“I f***ing forever despise [Logan Paul]. Horrible, horrible little f***er,” he told the Independent of the social media star.

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

Logan Paul’s 2022 Impaulsive interview with Liam Payne sparked major controversy at the time (YouTube/Logan Paul)

While Tomlinson didn’t go into further detail regarding his issues with Paul’s interview, he did specify 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 outlet. “That is the truth.”

Tomlinson added that his late former bandmate’s untimely passing ‘definitely’ brought the surviving members of One Direction 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 said. “It’s also just amazing to see everyone doing so well in their own right.”

Payne died after falling from the balcony of his third-floor hotel room in Argentina, with toxicology reports later finding that he’d had dangerous amounts of alcohol in his system at the time of the accident.

Tyla has reached out to Logan Paul’s representatives for comment.