Liam Payne spoke candidly to a fellow guest at the CasaSur Palermo Hotel in Argentina just before his death.
“[He said], ‘I used to be in a boy band — that’s why I’m so f—ed up,’” the woman, referred to as Rebecca (which is not her real name), recalled in an interview with the Daily Mail, published on Friday, October 18. (Payne was a member of One Direction alongside Harry Styles, Louis Tomlinson, Niall Horan and Zayn Malik from 2010 to 2015.)
“It was so clear he wanted someone to recognize him, there was something a bit desperate about him,” Rebecca claimed, noting that one of her friends was waiting to get Payne’s room. However, he hadn’t checked out of the hotel. The outlet obtained photos and videos from Rebecca as well.
Us Weekly confirmed on Wednesday, October 16, that Payne died at age 31 following a fall from the third-floor balcony of the hotel in Buenos Aires.
“I was with my friends, and we did know who he was, but none of us were that bothered,” Rebecca continued. “When the lift came, he suddenly said to us without any prompting, ‘Yes, I’m Liam!’ really drawing it out, and then said ‘All right come on you lot, get in the elevator with me, I love a cuddle.’”
Payne apparently told some of the “other girls” in the elevator that Americans are “f—ing crazy” and “f—ing dangerous.” Rebecca alleged that he started “fake choking” one of the women in the elevator.
The guest claimed that she was left “shaken” after meeting Payne, who showed “disturbing and weird behavior” — at least, by her account.
When he returned to the hotel lobby, Rebecca saw him reading emails and yelled “f— this s— mate,” before smashing the laptop. (Multiple reports have claimed that Payne was dropped from his record label Universal Music days before his death. Us Weekly has reached out for comment.)
Rebecca alleged that someone apparently from Payne’s team apologized on his behalf. The singer entered the lobby one more time prior to his death, according to her account.
“He walked in again and just tripped and fell flat on his face, sprawling across the floor,” she recalled. Rebecca told the Daily Mail that the police arrived on scene shortly after and she “realized the seriousness of what had happened.”
A preliminary autopsy report obtained by Us on Thursday, October 17, revealed that Payne had died from “internal and external” hemorrhages. Police sources also told Us that it’s unknown “whether he jumped” or if Payne’s death was an accident. There were also drugs found in the trashed room.
“No injuries were observed that would suggest the involvement of third parties,” the translated autopsy read. “The prosecutor’s office indicated that, based on the position in which the body was found and the injuries from the fall, it is presumed that Payne did not adopt a reflexive posture to protect himself and may have fallen in a state of semi or total unconsciousness.”
