- Liam Payne recently shared a YouTube video to explain his absence from the public eye.
- He apologized for controversial comments he made about One Direction on Logan Paul's podcast last year.
One year after sparking fury from One Direction fans, Liam Payne broke his silence with an eight-minute YouTube video titled "I'm Back..."
The 29-year-old singer kicked off by addressing his controversial appearance on Logan Paul's "Impaulsive" podcast in May 2022.
Payne made headlines last year for airing out his issues with One Direction, especially Zayn Malik, whom he described as a "dick." He also told Paul that he got into a physical altercation with one of his former bandmates, but didn't say which one.
In another bold moment, Payne claimed on the podcast that his debut solo single, 2017's "Strip That Down," was a major streaming success and "outsold everybody within the band."
In his new vlog, Payne admitted that his comments "came from the wrong place" and stemmed from "my own frustrations with my own career."
"I was so angry at what was going on around me and instead of taking a look inwards I decided to look outwards at everybody else and I took it out on everybody else, which is just wrong, really," he said. "So obviously I want to apologize for that."
He described the One Direction criticism as "self-protection" and even praised his former bandmates for supporting him.
"The rest of the boys really stuck by me when I needed them most, they kinda came to the rescue," he said. "Even Zayn, as well, which is why I did send him a little thank you online. It came across really big-headed, didn't it?"
Payne said that in the moment, he didn't consider how his comments would impact others, describing the fallout as "one of those life-changing moments that saved my life, in a way."
Payne explained that he "kind of had to go away to get better." He revealed that he spent nearly 100 days in a rehab facility in Louisiana, where he was completely offline in order to focus on recovery.
"I didn't connect with the outside world at all," he explained. "Upon leaving, the hardest part was turning the phone back on because it was a little bit scary."
Payne said he was in "bad shape" when he arrived at the facility, but has now been sober for almost six months. He also plans to release a new album soon and go on tour later this year.
"It's good to be in this position," he said. "Yeah, definitely don't need those things anymore. The party's over."
Payne previously opened up about struggling with addiction and hitting "rock bottom" during his time in One Direction. He said he relied on alcohol for comfort while dealing with the pressure and isolation of fame, especially as a young man who was heavily monitored.
"When we were in the band, the best way to secure us — because of how big it got — was just lock us in our rooms. And of course, what's in the room? Mini bar," he said during a podcast interview in 2021. "So at a certain point, I thought, 'Well I'm gonna have a party for one.' And that just seemed to carry on throughout many years of my life."