Culture

Liam Payne under fire from fans after claiming One Direction gay rumours ‘drive him insane’

Sep 13 2015
Written by Gabby Jeffries

One Direction’s Liam Payne has hit out at fans who speculate about the sexuality of his bandmates, branding the rumours “absolutely nuts”.

Despite repeated denials, a large number of One Direction fans ‘ship’ Harry Styles and Louis Tomlinson – known collectively as ‘Larry’ – and claim they are a couple.

However, bandmate Liam Payne spoke out about the claims in his first ever gay press interview with Attitude Magazine.

Ahead of the band’s planned split next year, the singer, who posed fully-clothed for two magazine covers, hit out at the ‘gay’ rumours.

He said: “When the [gay marriage] law changed in the US, there were loads of rainbow flags flying at our shows, but I think that was mainly because people think of the Louis and Harry thing, which is absolutely nuts and drives me insane.

“It’s like when you know the ins and outs of what’s going on with people, it’s just annoying when it’s so stupid…It becomes like a conspiracy or a cult.”

Louis Tomlinson is currently expecting his first child with his girlfriend Briana.

Payne added: “He’s very happy about becoming a dad. But the funny thing is, there are some people out there who think that Louis getting Briana pregnant is fake.

“That’s it’s not real; it’s a cover up. And that’s the sort of s–t that gets to me. But you have to hold your tongue and that’s fine.”

Some of the band’s fans have voiced their disapproval on Twitter after the remarks, with some saying they were “disappointed” with his candid comments.

However, Payne hit back: “It’s funny I thought people appreciated honesty these days”.

Last month Payne took to Twitter to refute claims that he is homophobic, after controversial comments at a One Direction live show in Columbus, Ohio.

Liam Payne previously praised “the family values” of the notoriously homophobic stars of reality show Duck Dynasty, after a homophobic rant from the family’s patriarch.

Duck Dynasty’s Phil Robertson claimed that sexually transmitted infections are God’s punishment for gays. This year he gave an Easter Sermon claiming that “sexually immoral” homosexuals will burn in hell.