Liam Payne apologizes for criticizing One Direction during interview with Logan Paul, says 'I was angry'
CLEVELAND, OHIO: Liam Payne has again apologized for his remarks and said that it is "hard" to watch back his contentious interview with Logan Paul. The singer of 'Strip That Down' made an appearance on the Youtuber's podcast over a year ago.
At the time, he caused controversy by declaring he would always "dislike" former bandmate Zayn Malik, saying having a child had "ruined" his relationship with Cheryl Tweedy, and asserting that One Direction was built around him and that his debut single had outsold all of their solo efforts.
‘I was so angry’
Liam said that in retrospect, he was striking out in the wrong place due to his "own frustrations" with his career.
In a YouTube video greeting to his followers, he stated, “A lot of what I just said came from the wrong place. I was so angry at what was going on around me and instead of taking a look inwards I decided to look outwards at everybody else. And I just think, yeah, I just took it out on everybody else. My own frustrations with my own career, where I could have landed; I took shots at everybody else, which is wrong. So obviously I want to apologise for that.”
He further added, “Obviously one of the biggest remarks I made was about the One Direction thing, and [there was] a lot of self-protection I suppose in that moment more than anything. It came across really big-headed, huh? It was hard for me to watch back. I think in those moments when you make these videos, you don’t realize the impact that your words might have on other people.”
‘The rest of the boys have really stuck by me’
Liam complimented the group for standing by him and helped "rescue" him from the hole he found himself in despite his criticism of his former teammates.
He said, “The rest of the boys have really stuck by me. And when I needed them most they kind of came to the rescue. Even Zayn as well, which is why you know I did send him a little thank you online.” The 28-year-old actor believes the negative feedback from the interview "saved" him. He just disclosed he had been clean for more than three months.
“It’s probably one of those life-changing moments that saved my life in a way, and without it I wouldn’t have went through a lot. It was tough to read some of the stuff online. I think thick skin’s quite fake. No matter what you read, it still hurts. And you know, like I said, a lot of it was warranted and people just trying to protect the people they’re fans of,” he added.