Liam Payne Comes Out Swinging: Denies One Direction Rumors

One Direction star Liam Payne is in a feisty mood, and he came out swinging as he attempted to dispel the latest rumors surrounding the world’s biggest boy-band. Liam and his fellow One Direction stars, Harry Styles, Louis Tomlinson, and Niall Horan, are never far from the gossip columns. If the hacks are not speculating about who Liam and his mates are dating, then they focus on when the band will split up. As a rule, Liam and his pals generally keep their own counsel when it comes to the rumor mill, but it must surely get them down at times.

Since Liam’s former bandmate, Zayn Malik, quit One Direction permanently back in March, there has been constant speculation that their days are numbered. This week’s “big news” has been about three main topics. Is Niall Horan dating Ariana Grande? Did One Direction fans boo Zayn Malik when his image flashed up on screen at Friday’s concert in Cardiff, and is One Direction headed for a split, temporary or otherwise, in 2016?

Liam and his pals played the first U.K. show of their “On The Road Again” tour in Cardiff on Friday, opened Capital’s Summertime Ball at Wembley Stadium Saturday afternoon, and then rushed back to Cardiff for another sold out show Saturday evening. Interviewed backstage before the show, Liam came out swinging when asked to comment on the current crop of rumors.

“We don’t know where that came from because we’ve got loads of stuff going on. We have just started the process for recording the new album, we’ve got a whole new tour going on, there are some really good songs so I don’t think we are going anywhere for a while.”

According to Unreality TV, Liam was also quick to leap to the defense of One Direction fans when asked about the reports of fans booing when Zayn Malik’s face flashed on screen at Cardiff. Liam stated that the band had not heard any booing and said that “I’m not sure that’s true.”

Liam did admit that One Direction missed Zayn’s soulful vocals, especially as he was having to sing many of Zayn’s parts. Liam said “[O]bviously Zayn’s got a good voice so it’s quite fun doing the high bits.” There has been suggestion in the media that there is unrest behind the scenes within One Direction, but Liam and his pals have looked happy and relaxed both onstage and backstage as their tour swings back into gear.

If one believes Liam Payne, One Direction fans can breathe easy — they will be around for some time.

[Photo by Mark Metcalfe / Getty Images]