In the wake of One Direction singer Liam Payne’s Oct. 16 death, many fans are trying to make sense of his unexpected passing — and some are using Sean “Diddy” Combs to do it. We’ll explain.
With both men now in the news cycle — the latter for his shocking federal indictment on charges of racketeering, sex trafficking and engaging in interstate transportation for prostitution — an old clip of Payne talking about Diddy on BBC’s “The Graham Norton Show” from 2017 has resurfaced. In it, the “What Makes You Beautiful” singer recounts the first time he met the Bad Boy mogul and Jay-Z at a party, though it isn’t clear if he’s referencing one of Diddy’s famous all-white parties or something different.
Explaining how he didn’t know which one to approach first and went with introducing himself to Diddy first because he’d seen him in 2010 film “Get Him to the Greek,” Payne went on to say that as he introduced himself, Diddy gave an “evil laugh” as they shook hands.
“I sat there looking into P. Diddy’s eyes like ‘when is this going to end?’” he said at the time.
As noted by RadarOnline, in another interview that same year on an Australian radio show, Payne recounted the same incident, telling the hosts of his experience with Diddy: “As I shook his hand, he just chuckled… the most evil laugh that I’ve ever heard. So I’m a little bit fearful of that man.”
In the days since Payne’s death, many on social media are pointing back to that resurfaced clip and speculating if the disgraced music producer somehow had a hand in it.
“Liam Payne was put off considerably when he met Diddy for the first time. Liam is now dead. I don’t think that is coincidental. Just putting that out there…,” wrote on user on X/Twitter.
“rumor is Liam Payne was about to testify against Diddy in 3 weeks is this true?,” another theorized. To be clear, there has been no official reporting that Liam was officially named as a witness in the Diddy’s case.
“Liam Payne went to a Diddy party… He got laughed at… Says he was fearful of Diddy. And Liam sees JayZ and DiCaprio. Fast forward…Diddy arrested. Attorney Tony Buzbee announces 120 new lawsuits coming out naming names involved. Liam “falls” out window! Did he fall or get silenced?,” commented another user.
“Liam Payne killed himself? Did P Diddy give him experiences he couldn’t deal with or was he about to reveal something. A 31 year old with the World at his feet is an odd one….,” said another.
According to Today, Payne died on Wednesday, Oct. 16 after falling from the third floor balcony of a hotel in Argentina. Prior to his death, hotel staff called 911 minutes before to report “an aggressive man who could be under the influence of drugs or alcohol”—though they did not specify if Liam was the man in question.
In a press release sent to the Associated Press, authorities also stated that “a series of substances were seized from the musician’s room, which would prove a previous situation of alcohol and drugs consumption.” Payne’s official autopsy report said that the singer died of “polytrauma and internal and external bleeding.”