Simon Cowell has responded publicly to those who feel he is to blame for the death of his protégé, One Direction star Liam Payne.
Cowell, 66, was asked in a new interview with Rolling Stone if it was “hurtful” to see people name him as one of the people to blame after his untimely death last year.
It’s a notion he’s not willing to entertain.
“I don’t read any of this stuff because if I did, you would just torture yourself,” he said.
“The idea that you are essentially responsible for somebody’s life, 10 years after you’ve signed someone? You can’t do that.”
Cowell formed One Direction alongside Nicole Scherzinger on season seven of The X Factor – the music competition series he created – by bringing together a number of the show’s contestants into one boy band.
After the show finished, the band signed to Cowell’s Syco Entertainment record label and they went on to become a global sensation.
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The band toured the world and produced five studio albums before they eventually disbanded in 2016.
In a 2019 interview on Jessie Ware’s podcast Table Manners, Payne candidly revealed that being in the band was “mega stressful”.
While he admitted parting ways with the band in 2016 was “scary at first”, he revealed that it was a good decision.
“I needed to stop. I would’ve killed me,” the late star said at the time.
When news of Payne’s death emerged, many looked back on interviews like this and claimed Cowell put too much pressure on One Direction during their time in the spotlight.
Payne was 31 when he fell to his death from a hotel balcony in Buenas Aires, Argentina last October.
“When I heard the news [of Payne’s death], it really hit me,” Cowell told Rolling Stone, revealing that he had seen him just “a year before” he died.
”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 ruin your life anymore. Find something else that you are passionate about’,” he said.
“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?'” he continued.
“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. When I spoke to him that day, I felt really good about him. I thought, ‘Wow, you seem in a really good place’.”
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