Liam Payne Says His Time In One Direction Was “Toxic”
Shots fired??
It’s been several years since One Direction went on “indefinite hiatus” and now Liam Payne is saying his time in the band was “toxic.”
He spills all in Men’s Health Australia, saying his mental health started a downward spiral after their massive success hit in 2010.
“It’s difficult when you have the level of fame that we had in the band,” he says. “There have been a lot of people in trouble with mental health that aren’t really getting the help that they need and I think that’s a bit of a problem in our industry. It’s the same sh-t that happens to everyone, that’s been happening since the ’70s. You know what the traps are and if you are lucky enough, like me, to be able to get out of that scenario and back into a sense of normality, then you know it’s a bit different.”
He says their massive popularity was “dumb luck,” and compares performing night after night to putting on a Disney costume and says he coped by drinking.
“When you’re doing hundreds and hundreds of [concerts] and it’s the same 22 songs at the same time every single day, even if you’re not happy, you’ve got to go out there,” he tells the magazine. “It’s almost like putting the Disney costume on before you step up on stage and underneath the Disney costume I was pissed quite a lot of the time because there was no other way to get your head around what was going on.”
Now to clarify…he says he enjoyed his time with One Direction, “there were certain parts of it where it just got a little bit toxic.” When asked if he ever felt in control during those times, he responded, “No. Never.”
He still struggles from the difficulties he faced in the band, “I really struggle to say no because I don’t like to let people down. It’s in my nature.”
