Nicole Scherzinger has opened up about her final conversation with Liam Payne. The pair had known each other for many years and had grown closer after working together on a Netflix show. In a new interview, Nicole reveals she spoke to the One Direction star just hours before he passed away.
Nicole Scherzinger remembers Liam Payne as “such a good heart”
Liam passed away in October 2024 after falling from a hotel balcony. He was in Argentina at the time. Nicole revealed that she’d had a conversation with the singer shortly before his death. She told The Times last week of their final interaction: “I’d known he was in Argentina. It was just chit-chat and pretty light.”
She continued: “I just adored Liam. He had such a good heart. I barely knew him when I put One Direction together. I just saw these talented boys and was like, ‘I’m coming out of a girl group — I know the power of a group.”
Nicole also revealed that she found out about Liam’s death just before she was due to go on stage for a Broadway performance. She explained she had to put her feelings aside in that moment: “The show must go on. From then on, I dedicated a little part of the show to Liam every night. Just a little moment that always made me think of him.”
She also revealed the conclusion she’d come to after reflecting on Liam’s passing: “We need more compassion in the world. Our phones are our enemies as much as they help us. I wish we’d cancel ‘cancel culture.’”
The former Pussycat Dolls star first met Liam in 2010 when she helped form One Direction on The X Factor UK. The pair later worked together on Building the Band, which Netflix aired earlier this year. The singer posted a tribute to her pal on Instagram soon after he died. She wrote: “It’s been so hard to process that you’re no longer here, but I am grateful to have known your kind heart, sweet soul and character.”
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