Pop star Harry Styles says he is still grappling with the death of his former One Direction bandmate and friend Liam Payne.
“I think there was a period when he passed away where I really struggled,” Styles said in an interview with Apple Music’s Zane Lowe posted on Wednesday. “I have such strong feelings around my friend passing away.”
Payne was 31 when he fell from a third floor balcony on Oct. 16, 2024. His sudden death sent shockwaves through the music world and plunged his fans around the world into mourning.
Styles said what happened to Payne prompted him to reassess his own life.
“It was a really important moment for me in terms of taking a look at my life and being able to say to myself, ‘OK, what do I want to do with my life? How do I want to live my life?’ Styles said. “And I think the greatest way you can honor your friends who pass away is by living your life to the fullest.”
Styles found himself talking about Payne while doing an interview to promote his new album “Kiss All The Time. Disco, Occasionally,” which goes on sale Friday.
After Payne died, Argentinian prosecutors said the former boy band singer had been incapacitated by “consumption of various substances” before he fell to his death.
In February 2025, an Argentinian court cleared three of the five people accused of having a hand in the death of Payne.
But the court also upheld the pre-trial detention of a hotel worker and a waiter at a local restaurant who were accused of plying him with cocaine.
As of December, both men were still awaiting trial, according to British newspapers.
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