Boy George admits he regrets making ‘not very nice’ comment about Liam Payne before his tragic death

LONDON, UNITED KINGDOM: Boy George has admitted his mistake after making a not-so-nice comment about Liam Payne following his death.

While appearing on a Wednesday, November 20, episode of the ‘High Performance’ podcast, the Culture Club frontman shared, according to Entertainment Weekly, “In the case of Liam Payne, I watched him a few days before it happened.”

“I remember watching online, and I’d actually put a message under a post saying, ‘He’s off his nut,’ which wasn’t very nice but I felt it. I felt like he was out of control,” he revealed to hosts Jake Humphrey and Damian Hughes.

Boy George says he was not able to ‘take in’ Liam Payne’s death

The ‘Karma Chameleon’ musician further noted that the death of Liam Payne on October 16 “hit” him like the shocking death of Amy Winehouse in July 2011.

“You know, I was up at 5 am and it came up on the American news and I literally was like 'What the f**k. I was literally like 'No this isn't real.' I couldn't take it in and I think everybody felt like that," he said.

George, 63, had penned two tributes for Payne after the tragedy.

On X, he tweeted, “How sad is the death of Liam Payne. Just awful news to wake up to. God bless his family. I am absolutely shocked. R.I.P.”

“You can absolutely have a broken heart over someone you don’t know. This is the saddest news ever. #ripliam,” the DJ wrote on Instagram.

Boy George faced backlash after he paid tribute to Liam Payne

However, on the podcast, he disclosed that he received a few nasty comments for his homage that shocked him.

George stated, “Somebody tweeted to me: ‘You only care because he’s good-looking. I think, 'F**k off. You’re an idiot. No, actually, I care about his family.”

The songwriter also mentioned seeing Payne’s father. He added, “I watched the dad. Heartbreaking. I was quite tearful about it. I really felt very sad.”

Liam Payne was in Argentina at the time of his death

The ‘Strip That Down’ singer was found dead at the CasaSur Palermo Hotel in Buenos Aires, Argentina, after he fell multiple stories from a balcony.

Later, it was determined that he died because of “multiple trauma” and “internal and external haemorrhage,” as per BBC.

A statement from his family read, “We are heartbroken. Liam will forever live in our hearts and we’ll remember him for his kind, funny and brave soul. We are supporting each other the best we can as a family and ask for privacy and space at this awful time.”