Liam Payne Was Battling 'A Very Significant Drug Addiction' - And His Team Wasn't Helping, Say Insiders

As we try to make sense of Liam Payne‘s tragic death, we’re seeing more and more struggles, more suffering, more signs things were really wrong.

One of the biggest blows the One Direction alum was dealt recently? We hear he was dropped by his label days before his death. He’d been with Capitol Records (a subsidiary of Universal Music Group) for eight years, basically since 1D disbanded. But they’d had enough. At this point, sources told DailyMail.com, they considered him a bad bet and didn’t expect to recoup their advance.

Well, there may have been more to the story than that. Multiple sources told Page Six on Friday that Liam had a “significant” drug problem.

Insiders said some folks on his team were trying to get him back to touring and making money. One source said:

“They were really pushing him to go on the road and back on tour and he was only just out of rehab. How many times have we seen this story, where people are only concerned about making money?”

Liam had gone through 100 days of treatment at a rehab facility in Louisiana in 2023. We wouldn’t be surprised if the label paid for it, in the hopes he’d eventually start making hit songs, touring, etc. But how soon is the question? Certain team members apparently wanted him to get right back to the road after rehab. The label, we’re told, was not on board with him jumping back into touring.

Ironically the stress of being told he was letting everyone down may have pushed him right back off the wagon. The “well-placed industry source” spilled:

“Liam was battling a very significant drug addiction and his treatment, as those who knew him will attest, was not working.”

And yet people in his circle pushed? It sounds like a vicious cycle. He’s not working, they pressure him, the pressure makes him do drugs and work less, they pressure him more? Innerestingly the label was the first to jump off that spiral. By the end, per the outlet’s sources, UMG execs were “uncomfortable” working with him anymore. We’ve heard his publicists left, too.

Sadly, getting dropped from his label was just another setback for Liam in recent days. And being overwhelmed by multiple stressful events may have made the drug problem worse.

According to witnesses on the day of his death, Liam’s behavior was aggressive and erratic. There was drug paraphernalia found in his room, everyone who encountered him described him as intoxicated. He was so high in the hotel lobby, or at least acting like it, the receptionist called 911. And that was before he jumped from his fourth-story balcony, apparently high as a kite. Maybe even hallucinating, if the cops are right.

We just wish everyone had been on the same page with keeping Liam clean and healthy as priority one. Because it doesn’t sound like it…

For resources on mental health, visit https://www.nimh.nih.gov/health/find-help.

If you or someone you know is experiencing substance abuse, help is available. Consider checking out the resources SAMHSA provides at https://www.samhsa.gov/find-help/national-helpline or check out StartYourRecovery.org

[Image via MEGA/WENN.]