Why is Simon Cowell, who 'created' One Direction, getting hate after Liam Payne's death? Fans say 'he failed the boys'

Simon Cowell produced and judged X Factor, the show where One Direction were discovered years ago. He also helped them sign their first record deal.

British singer Liam Payne's death at 31 stunned the music world. The singer died after a fall from his hotel room in Argentina earlier this week. The death saw an outpouring of grief and tributes from his fans, friends, and industry colleagues. While fans reacted positively to most tributes, music producer Simon Cowell got a lot of negativity and hatred for his Instagram post. Cowell has had a long but chequered history with Liam and his former band, One Direction. (

Simon Cowell with One Direction during their heyday

Why is Simon Cowell getting hate for Liam Payne's death?

Liam Payne was first discovered on the reality show X Factor, which was produced and judged by Cowell. It was on the show that One Direction was formed and even though they did not win the competition, Cowell recognised their potential and signed them to his record label. However, fans feel that Cowell failed to protect the boys from being hit by stardom at such an early age. Over the years, all of the band members have spoken about struggling with fame and dealing with various issues and mental health issues due to being thrust in the limelight at such an early age.

Liam Payne's death, which most likely occurred after he was under the influence of drugs and alcohol, is being attributed to this misadjustment and failure to cope with stardom. As per his autopsy, the singer jumped or fell from the third-floor balcony of his hotel room in Buenos Aires and was either fully or semi-unconscious at the time.

Simon Cowell's tribute and backlash

On Friday, Simon Cowell took to Instagram and wrote, “This is so difficult to put in words right now. I went outside today, and I thought about so many times we had together. I wanted to let you know what I would always say to the thousands of people who would always ask me. What is Liam like? And I would tell them you were kind, funny, sweet, thoughtful, talented, humble, focused. And how much you loved music. And how much love you genuinely had for the fans.”

However, the producer had to turn off the comments for the post after it began to be shared with a lot of abuse and hatred coming his way. After a screengrab of the post was shared on Reddit, fans posted scathing remarks against Cowell. "He failed the boys, failed to protect them when they were young," one wrote. Another added, "The hypocrisy of his statement makes me angry. He benefitted from their exploitation." Many others argued that Cowell was 'partly responsible' for the band's breakup and the band members' fragile relations and mental health.