Simon Cowell is addressing the public conversation surrounding Liam Payne’s death and the claims that he somehow played a role in it.
In a new interview on the Rolling Stone Music Now podcast, the 66-year-old producer made it clear that he doesn’t accept the idea that he’s to blame for pressure placed on One Direction or for what happened to Payne years after the group’s rise to fame.
Cowell said he actively avoids reading comments that accuse him of responsibility.
“I don’t read any of this stuff because if I did, you would just torture yourself,” he explained.
He added, “The idea that you are essentially responsible for somebody’s life, 10 years after you’ve signed someone? You can’t do that.”
One Direction, formed on The X Factor in 2010, became global stars after signing with Cowell’s Syco Records.
As conversations resurfaced following Payne’s tragic death in 2024, former member Louis Tomlinson also defended the team behind the band, saying he never blamed anyone for the demanding workload.
“Was it really hard work? Yes. Did we not have enough days off? Yes,” Tomlinson told The Independent in October, reflecting on their fast-paced years.
Cowell shared that learning about Payne’s passing “really hit” him, especially since they had spoken about a year beforehand.
During that conversation, the two opened up about fatherhood and life beyond the music industry. Payne was dad to his son Bear, while Cowell shares his son Eric with fiancée Lauren Silverman.
Cowell recalled advising Payne at the time: “Music is not everything. Don’t let it run your life anymore. Find something else that you are passionate about.”
He made Payne think over difficult questions, wondering whether he could have done more or how life might have turned out had the singer never been in the band.
He recently checked in with Payne’s parents, Geoff and Karen, who told him their son had been “so proud of what he had achieved.”
Cowell said he wishes he could “turn back the clock,” remembering that the last time they spoke, Payne seemed to be “in a really good place.”
Liam Payne died at age 31 after falling from a hotel balcony in Buenos Aires in October 2024.
Toxicology findings showed alcohol, cocaine and prescription antidepressants in his system at the time.
