Simon Cowell Reflects on Liam Payne’s Death, Denies Responsibility for His Life

Simon Cowell has spoken out on Liam Payne’s death, revealing their final conversation.

The X Factor boss said the late One Direction star visited his home a year before he died in Buenos Aires after falling from a third floor balcony at the Casa Sur Palmero Hotel on October 16, 2024.

Simon, who discovered Liam aged 14 and put him in One Direction on the 2010 series of X Factor, said that the singer was ‘in a really good place’ when he saw him but he still questions if he could have done more to help.

‘When I heard the news, it really hit me. I saw him a year before this happened. He came over to my house. We talked about his son and being a dad,’ Simon recalled to Rolling Stone.

‘I remember saying, “Music is not everything. Don’t let it run your life anymore. Find something else that you are passionate about.”’

Simon, who is promoting his new Netflix talent show Simon Cowell: The Next Act, admitted ‘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?”’

But he insisted he doesn’t feel responsible for how Liam’s life played out.

‘Having spoken to his mum 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,’ Simon continued. ‘When I spoke to him that day, I felt really good about him. I thought, “Wow, you seem in a really good place.”’

Asked by the magazine if it was hurtful to hear some comments in the wake of Liam’s death that he may be to blame, Simon was matter-of-fact, explaining: ‘I don’t read any of this stuff because if I did, you would just torture yourself.’

‘The idea that you are essentially responsible for somebody’s life, 10 years after you’ve signed someone? You can’t do that.’

Simon met Liam when he auditioned for X Factor for the very first time at the age of 14.

And upon learning of his death, Simon released a touching tribute to the ‘kind, funny and talented’, pop star, who ‘never forgot the fans’.

He wrote: ‘Liam, I am truly devastated. Heartbroken. And I feel empty. And I want you to know how much love and respect I have for you. Every tear I have shed is a memory of you.

‘This is so difficult to put in words right now. I went outside today, and I thought about so many times we had together.

‘I wanted to let you know what I would always say to the thousands of people who would always ask me.

‘What is Liam like? And I would tell them you were kind, funny, sweet, thoughtful, talented, humble, focused. And how much you loved music. And how much love you genuinely had for the fans.

‘I had to tell you when you were 14 that this wasn’t your time. And we both made a promise that we would meet again.

‘A lot of people would have given up. You didn’t. You came back and within months the whole world knew Liam.

‘And you never forgot the fans. I watched you spending so much time with people who had wanted to meet you. You really cared.

‘You came to see me last year. Not for a meeting. Just to sit and talk. And we reminisced about all of the fun times we had together.

‘And how proud you were to be a Dad. After you left, I was reminded that you were still the sweet, kind boy I met all of those years ago.

He continued: ‘I have met your son, Bear. He has your smile and that twinkle in his eyes you have.

Simon was later seen hugging Liam’s parents Geoff and Karen as he sought to comfort them following their son’s funeral.