Boy George Regrets Saying Liam Payne Was 'Off His Nut' Before His Tragic Death: 'Wasn't Very Nice'
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11/21/2024 12:26 PM
In a recent episode of the 'High Performance' podcast, the English musician regretted judging Payne from a video that was taken in the days before his death
Boy George regrets comments he made about Liam Payne in the days before his tragic death.
In a Wednesday, Nov. 20 episode of the High Performance podcast, the "Karma Chameleon" musician, 63, acknowledged that his comment toward the One Direction alum "wasn't very nice."
"I'd actually put a message under a post saying, 'He's off his nut,' which wasn't very nice, but I felt it. I felt like he was out of control," George, 63, told hosts Jake Humphrey and Damian Hughes.
Mike Marsland/WireImage; Karwai Tang/WireImage
Boy George in October 2023; Liam Payne in March 2023Related: Liam Payne of One Direction Dies at 31 After Falling from Hotel Balcony in Argentina
"And when [his death] happened, it just hit me. Same way that Amy Winehouse hit me just because it felt so senseless," he continued, referring to the "Valerie" hitmaker's death in July 2011 from accidental alcohol poisoning at the age of 27.
George also recalled the shock he felt finding out about Payne's death.
"You know, I was up at 5 a.m. and it came up on the American news and I literally was like 'What the f---. I was literally like 'No this isn't real.' I couldn't take it in and I think everybody felt like that," he said.
George was "appalled" by people's comments saying that he only cared because Payne "was good-looking."
"I watched the dad [Geoff Payne], and it was heartbreaking. I was quite tearful about it. I really very felt sad," he explained.
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Liam Payne in January 2018Payne died on Oct. 16 at age 31 after falling multiple stories from a balcony at the CasaSur Palermo Hotel in Buenos Aires, Argentina.
A press release by the National Criminal and Correctional Prosecutor's Office No. 14 from Nov. 7 revealed that Payne's toxicology results showed traces of "alcohol, cocaine and prescription antidepressants" in his body.
In the release, prosecutors said that "self-harm of any kind and/or physical intervention by third parties were ruled out" as contributing factors in his death.
According to a forensic doctor, the "Strip That Down" singer's death was caused by "multiple trauma" and "internal and external hemorrhage" due to the fall, per the release.
Prosecutors also concluded that Payne was "not fully conscious or was in a state of noticeable decrease or loss of consciousness at the time of the fall."
