'Sad' Boy George Regrets Making 'Not Very Nice' Comments About Liam Payne Days Before Singer's Death
Boy George wishes he could take back unfriendly comments he said about Liam Payne in the days before his devastating death at age 31.
During a guest appearance on the Thursday, November 21, episode of the "High Performance" podcast, George spoke to hosts Jake Humphrey and Damian Hughes about remorse he felt following news the late One Direction singer fell from the balcony of his third floor hotel room in Buenos Aires, Argentina, on Wednesday, October 16.
"In the case of Liam Payne, I watched him a few days before it happened … I remember watching online, and 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," the "Karma Chameleon" singer admitted. "And when it happened, it just hit me."
"The same way that Amy Winehouse hit me. Because it felt so senseless," he noted, referring to the "Back to Black" singer dying of alcohol poisoning at age 27 in 2011.
Recalling the day Payne died, George detailed: "I was up at 5 in the morning and it came up on the American news and I was literally like, 'What the f---?' I was literally like, 'No, this isn’t real.' I couldn’t take it in. I think everybody felt like that."
"Somebody tweeted to me: 'You only care because he’s good-looking.' I think, 'F--- off. You're an idiot,'" the Culture Club lead vocalist declared. "I care about his family … I watched the dad. Heartbreaking. I was quite tearful about it. I really felt very sad."
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George had been referring to Payne's dad, Geoff, traveling to the hotel his son died at to visit a memorial fans had set up and help authorities with their investigation into the "Teardrops" singer's passing.
Liam was laid to rest on Wednesday, November 20, during a private funeral ceremony, which was attended by his former One Direction bandmates Harry Styles, Niall Horan, Zayn Malik and Louis Tomlinson.
It was the first time the beloved boy band members all reunited together since Zayn left the group in 2015.
Liam's funeral, which took place in his hometown of Wolverhampton, England, was also attended by his girlfriend, Kate Cassidy, as well as his ex Cheryl Cole — whom the pop star shared his 7-year-old son, Bear, with.
Other attendees included Simon Cowell, James Corden and Cole's Girls Aloud group members Kimberley Walsh and Nicola Roberts.
Liam's coffin was transported to the church in a white horse-drawn carriage, with flowers spelling out the words "son" and "daddy," as OK! previously reported.