Following former One Direction member Liam Payne's death in Buenos Aires, Argentina, on Oct. 16, 2024, rumors about his life spread rapidly online.
One example was an X post shared on the day he died that had received more than 6 million views as of this writing. It included a video purportedly showing the singer saying he had "a very awkward moment" with rappers Sean "Diddy" Combs and Jay-Z.
One Direction's Liam Payne, who died after falling from the third floor of a hotel in Argentina, once shared a chilling encounter with Diddy and Jay-Z.
He recalled his "evil laugh" that left him deeply unsettled, admitting that Diddy, in particular, was far more intimidating… pic.twitter.com/kMwXfq0NRB— Shadow of Ezra (@ShadowofEzra) October 17, 2024
The X user who shared the clip said Payne recounted "a chilling encounter" with the two music moguls and that "[Combs'] 'evil laugh' ... left [the One Direction singer] deeply unsettled."
Although the "Strip That Down" singer did not use the phrase "evil laugh" in the footage, as claimed by the X user, the rest of the X user's language was a reasonable, albeit possibly somewhat exaggerated, interpretation of the story Payne told in the video.
Therefore, while the X post slightly misquoted the singer, the clip itself was real, which is why we have rated this claim as true.
The video originated from Payne's appearance on British late-night talk show "The Graham Norton Show." The late singer appeared alongside guests Salma Hayek and David Walliams (actors James Buckley and Ed Westwick also appeared later in the episode) on Season 21, Episode 8 — which aired May 27, 2017 — to discuss his new solo career following One Direction's indefinite hiatus in 2016.
While comedian and author Walliams told a story about an awkward meal with singers Bryan Ferry and Prince, Payne followed with his tale of meeting Combs (who the former One Direction star referred to by his earlier moniker, P. Diddy) and Jay-Z at an event:
Liam Payne: I had that with P. Diddy. I went over to say hello to P. Diddy, and Jay-Z was there, and Leonardo DiCaprio was sat—
David Walliams: All right, I think you've dropped enough names! OK? I think people thought Prince and Bryan Ferry was good! We don't need to hear about other people who were in the room.
Liam Payne: I'm sorry, I'm sorry. All right, I digress.
David Walliams: Stick on the people the story is about.
Liam Payne: So, I went over and I thought, I was trying to think, who's the easy target in this scenario? Who's the one that you go to to say the hello? And I'm thinking, I saw him in "Get Him to the Greek," I'm going to go over there and say hello to him. So I thought, P. Diddy! So I went out to shake his hand, and I shook his hand, and I just say, "Aw, nice to meet you!" And he's just going, "Heh-heh-heh-heh" [mimicking an "evil laugh"], but with the longest handshake ever. And I'm like, just sat there looking in P.Diddy's eyes, like, when is this going to end?
And then, the worst of it happened. The worst of it happened. There was a whole thing with Jay-Z, and I went to lean in to speak to him, but you can't lean in to speak to Jay-Z, you're not allowed to lean in. And his bodyguard just, like, shoved me like this [mimes shoving Walliams with his shoulder], and I went flying across the room. And I was like, right, I'm just going to go and sit over here with Ellie Goulding now. Thank you, that's enough. A very awkward moment.
Payne's discussion of his "awkward" encounter with Combs wasn't limited to "The Graham Norton Show." In 2017, multiple media outlets mentioned an interview the singer conducted with Australian radio hosts Kyle Sandilands and Jackie O on KIIS FM that year, during which he reportedly brought up the same story. Most of those outlets included a link to the interview on music-streaming platform Soundcloud, but the content had since been removed. However, an archived version of the page shows audio was once available at the link.
These interviews have resurfaced following Payne's death, leading to wild speculations that Combs could somehow be involved in the singer's fatal balcony fall. Multiple social media accounts have attempted to link the hip-hop mogul to the former One Direction star's demise.
However, Combs has been incarcerated at New York's Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn since being arrested on Sept. 16, 2024 — one month before Payne's death — on charges related to racketeering and sex trafficking offenses. He currently has a growing list of lawsuits being leveled at him.
Father-of-one Payne, 31, died from trauma and internal bleeding after falling from a third-floor balcony at the Casa Sur Hotel in Buenos Aires. Associated Press reported: "The circumstances surrounding the death of ex-One Direction singer Liam Payne were suspicious and possibly involved drugs, though there was no sign of a third party being involved, Argentine prosecutors said Thursday."
Snopes has investigated other claims surrounding Combs, including an image that authentically depicted the music mogul with Prince Harry and Kanye "Ye" West, and the false claim footage showed the rapper and Jay-Z involved in illicit sexual activities in "underground play tunnels."