Simon Cowell Addresses Liam Payne's Death and Accusation's He's 'to Blame' for the One Direction Star's Passing

Simon Cowell is opening up about the untimely death of Liam Payne at age 31.

In a new interview, the American Idol alum shared that the news of Payne's tragic passing in 2024 "really hit" him.

Cowell, 66, signed Payne to his record label in 2010 after his audition on Britain's The X Factor. He was just 16 at the time.

"I saw him a year before this happened. He came over to my house. We talked about his son and being a dad. I remember saying, 'Music is not everything. Don’t let it run your life anymore. Find something else that you are passionate about,'" Cowell recalled to Rolling Stone.

"You ask yourself that question: 'Could I have done anything more?'  What would’ve happened to Liam if he hadn’t been in the band?" the star continued. "Having spoken to his mom and dad recently, all they kept telling me was he was so proud of what he had achieved."

"I wish I could turn back the clock, of course," he confessed. "When I spoke to him that day, I felt really good about him. I thought, 'Wow, you seem in a really good place.'"

Rolling Stone writer Brian Hiatt asked the brutally honest British television personality about social media users who cast blame on him for Payne's death.

"Was that hurtful?" Hiatt questioned.

"I don’t read any of this stuff because if I did, you would just torture yourself," Cowell replied. "The idea that you are essentially responsible for somebody’s life, 10 years after you’ve signed someone? You can’t do that."

The teen pop sensation died from "extremely serious injuries" after falling from the third floor of CasaSur Palermo Hotel in Buenos Aires, Argentina, on October 16, 2024.

Communications director for the Buenos Aires Security Ministry Pablo Policicchio told The Associated Press the "Sunshine" singer "had jumped from the balcony of his room."

Prior to his passing, the hotel manager called 911 due to an "aggressive man who could be under the influence of drugs or alcohol."

It was later revealed he fell accidentally while in an impaired state. An autopsy showed that the singer had cocaine and alcohol in his system.

The receptionist at the hotel, Esteban Grassi, also called emergency services, stating, "I don't know whether his life may be in danger. He is in a room with a balcony, and, well, we're a little afraid..."

Payne — who had struggled with substance abuse for years — had been vacationing with his girlfriend, American influencer Kate Cassidy, at the time. She had left just a few days before his fatal fall.

Payne had one son, Bear Grey Payne, with his ex-girlfriend Cheryl Cole, whom they welcomed in 2017.