Simon Cowell has broken his silence after the death of Liam Payne. After the former One Direction member died at the age of 31 from a fall from his hotel room balcony in Buenos Aires, Argentina on Wednesday, Oct. 16, the longtime talent judge took to Instagram with a lengthy statement.
“You never really know how you feel about someone until a moment like this happens,” Cowell began his statement on Friday. “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.”
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Cowell, who is often credited with the creation of One Direction after placing Payne with bandmates Harry Styles, Niall Horan, Louis Tomlinson and Zayn Malik on The X Factor in 2010, continued that he found it difficult to express himself right now.
“I went outside today, and I thought about so many times we had together,” he wrote. “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.”
Cowell advised Payne in 2008, when the “Strip That Down” artist first auditioned on The X Factor at age 14, to return two years later for another shot. “I had to tell you when you were 14 that this wasn’t your time,” Cowell remembered. “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.”
Cowell then recalled a visit he had last year with Payne, who shared 7-year-old son Bear with his ex, Cheryl Cole. “We reminisced about all of the fun time we had together,” the America’s Got Talent judge wrote. “And how proud you were to be a Dad.” Bear shares his dad’s eye “twinkle,” and “will be so proud of everything you achieved. And how you achieved it,” Cowell assured.
The record executive concluded by revealing he always thought of One Direction as a band of brothers. “And reading their messages today I believe you were,” he said, referencing the tributes shared by Payne’s former bandmates. “And now Liam, I can see the effect you had on so many people. Because you left us too soon. Rest in peace my friend.”
