Louis Tomlinson: One Direction Star Looks Set For Another Difficult Year

2015 was a pretty dire year for Louis Tomlinson, and 2016 looks like it isn’t going to be any easier. In 2015, One Direction star Louis was clearly affected by a stream of negative reporting and faced a number of personal issues, and this year has kicked off in a similar vein. In March of last year, Louis split with long-time girlfriend, Eleanor Calder, and since then, Tomlinson has been piling up his troubles. Tomlinson’s fans won’t need reminding that over the Christmas holidays, Louis was pictured looking pale, gaunt, and drawn as the constant barrage of negativity appeared to take its toll on the 24-year-old star.

For those who do not follow the gossip columns tracking of Tomlinson’s life, it was reported back in July that Louis was to become a father. Sadly what should have been one of the happiest periods of Louis’ life descended into rumor, speculation, and controversy, fuelled principally by Tomlinson’s silence over the matter.

Over the summer months, claims arose that Tomlinson was having difficulties in his relationship with his natural father, Troy Austin. Louis and Austin have been estranged for a number of years and, as was reported in the Inquisitr at the time, claims emerged that Louis was being blackmailed by his own father. It was widely reported that Austin had threatened that if Louis did not repair his relationship, he would reveal secrets that would “blow Tomlinson’s family apart.”

During last Autumn, Louis was widely criticized for partying hard whilst One Direction were on their world tour. Barely a day passed without pictures of Tomlinson leaving a nightclub with a bevy of women at his heels. At the same time, rumors began to emerge claiming that One Direction were to split at the end of the tour.

The anti-Tomlinson rhetoric soared as One Direction’s tour drew to a close, and the Sun published a story claiming that Louis and Harry Styles were at each other’s throats and could barely stand to be in the same room. The article painted Tomlinson as manipulative, a drug user, and laid the blame for One Direction’s split firmly at Louis feet.

As Christmas approached some sections of the media began to paint Louis as a “deadbeat dad” as they showed him partying with rumored new girlfriend Danielle Campbell. The implication was that Tomlinson had dumped his pregnant girlfriend and run off with an actress weeks before he was to become a father.

Admittedly, Louis did have some respite around the time that Freddie Tomlinson was born. Instead of “party Louis,” we saw a plethora of headlines on “domesticated Louis.” The Daily Mail reported on the most mundane details of Tomlinson’s life, suddenly “Louis goes grocery shopping” and “Tomlinson drinks coffee” became headline news.

Many of Louis’ fans were suspicious of the change in tone of reporting on Tomlinson, and anticipated the next wave of negativity. They did not have long to wait. People magazine, among many others, reported that Louis was set for a court battle with Briana Jungwirth over access to his son. It seems that Louis was once again being held to ransom, this time in a fight over child support.

Most people would think that Tomlinson’s agreement to pay his baby mama almost $3 million in child support over the first 18-years of little Freddie’s life was pretty generous. It seems, however, that Briana’s family want $60,000 a month, or $13 million, and they were trying to stop Louis seeing his son unless he paid up. This is a fight that could get very ugly.

Sadly, Louis now faces another huge challenge. It seems that Tomlinson’s beloved grandfather, Keith, has passed away. Unreality TV report that Louis’ grandad passed away after Louis’ sister, Phoebe Tomlinson, confirmed the news on Instagram earlier today.

Phoebe posted a photo of her granddad carrying the London 2012 Olympic torch. Alongside the photo, she wrote “RIP grandad Keith.”

Many of Louis’ fans took to social media to show their support for Louis and his family, and they quickly had the hashtag #RIPKeith trending across the world.

Keith Tomlinson was a huge supporter of Louis and One Direction, and often engaged in online banter with fans. Louis and the whole Tomlinson family will be devastated at Keith’s passing. If 2015 was a difficult year for Louis Tomlinson, this year does not look like it will be any easier.

[Photo by Rich Fury/Invision/AP]