Liam Payne had deeply struggled with drug addiction in the years before his death — including several overdoses.
According to a source close to the situation who spoke with Page Six on Tuesday, the One Direction star overdosed a few years ago. He had to be resuscitated at least once, per that insider. Another senior music insider agreed, revealing they had been told the singer overdosed at least twice in the past. Whoa.
It’s unclear exactly when these incidents went down. But the close source, who had known the Strip That Down crooner since his days in the British boyband, said that Liam’s close friends and former colleagues were “shocked” to learn his manager had signed him up to film Netflix‘s Building the Band over the summer. That’s because he had just come out of rehab — and they felt like he was in “no shape” to be working again.
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The friend explained:
“His manager pushed him to do the show and there were a lot of worried texts exchanged between us. […] We were shocked, there was no way he was in any shape to do this.”
They continued:
“Liam had, in the last few months, become very isolated by a new group of people away from [those] who cared for him and who’d been trying to help him for a long time.”
Oh, no.
Isolation is never good… Another well-placed insider added that Liam’s manager was the one distancing him from loved ones:
“Liam’s manager moved him to Miami and away from all of his friends, he isolated him.”
FWIW, Liam had moved in with his girlfriend Kate Cassidy in the months before his death, and they were renting a property in Florida, per reports. So, it’s hard to say if Miami was totally the manager’s decision.
Either way, it’s clear that Liam’s pals don’t think he was looked after enough, especially given how much he had struggled with addiction for years. The source went on to note that the 31-year-old had been having a tough time ever since the band went on an indefinite hiatus in 2016, saying:
“He was heartbroken and never really recovered. He was lost without his brothers.”
Ugh.
Given the fact that his mental health and addiction issues were well known, Liam’s loved ones are now curious to find out what, if anything, Netflix did to vet the singer before having him on the show. Specifically, they’re questioning whether the streamer and the show’s producers from Remarkable Entertainment sought medical advice before agreeing to work with the Teardrops artist. One friend wondered:
“Did Netflix and producers have any professional advice, if so, from whom, to verify that he was in a fit state of health mentally and physically to film the series.”
While Netflix declined to comment, a source close to the UK production insisted Liam was just a guest judge and didn’t appear in all the eps. He also reportedly found the experience fulfilling and wanted to work with the bands after the show wrapped. To be fair, while the company should have done its due diligence, it really should have been up to Liam’s manager or other close colleagues to determine if this was the right move for him! They knew him far better than these TV execs! Just saying…
Despite controversy now, it does seem like it was a positive experience for the pop star. He starred on the show with Nicole Scherzinger, Kelly Rowland, and AJ McLean, who had nice things to say about him. Liam stayed close with Nicole, his pal from the 1D days, who he was texting on the day he died. The show wrapped in August, but it’s unclear if Netflix will decide to release it in light of this tragedy.
In his final days, Liam was also facing other career setbacks. He’d been dropped from his record label Universal as well as his London-based publicist shortly before his death. There was also arguments within his team about how to handle his career, such as certain members pushing him to go on tour after rehab (his label was reportedly not on board with this idea).
So, it makes sense why his pals were so stunned by the TV show gig. Clearly, his friends felt there were people in the vocalist’s life more focused on his career than his well-being. However, it’s important to remember that Liam was sober when he arrived in Argentina, where he died just weeks later after jumping from his hotel balcony while on multiple drugs.
With that in mind, it’s unclear if the music competition series is really to blame for any of this! The timing might not have been great, but it didn’t (seemingly) immediately lead to a relapse. There is still so much left up in the air right now.
An investigation into Liam’s death is ongoing, including an autopsy which is taking longer than expected because the drugs in his system are believed to have been cut with unknown substances, according to insiders. Hopefully, the investigation will help turn up more concrete answers on the beloved musician’s final moments.
Thoughts on all this? Share them (below).
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
