Liam Payne was once asked how he wanted to be remembered — and his response is devastating

Fans are deeply moved by what he said

Liam Payne
(Image credit: Getty Images)

Liam Payne may have been famous, but this wasn't the most important thing for him.

Two years before his tragic death at the age of 31, Liam was asked how he wanted to be remembered for posterity, and his response has been making the rounds among the singer's fans, because it's so deeply moving.

"Honestly, just being a nice guy," Liam said on stage at VeeCon in May 2022, as seen in a TikTok video shared by a fan.

"I’d rather be known for being a nice guy than anything else," he continued.

"For me now, it’s trying to give everybody the time they deserve with you if that’s the thing they’re excited about. It doesn’t matter what they say or what they do. You just gotta give your time and effort into those people, because it comes back. So, yeah, I’d rather be known for being nice than anything else."

The news of Liam's death broke last Wednesday, shocking fans the world over. The One Direction alum fell from the balcony of his third-floor hotel room in Buenos Aires, Argentina, with a mix of drugs having been found in his toxicology report.

There has been a huge outpouring of love for the late musician since last week, including from his former bandmates.

In his message for Liam, Harry Styles wrote: "The years we spent together will forever remain among the most cherished years of my life. I will miss him always, my lovely friend."

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Zayn Malik's devastating message included the words: "I hope that wherever you are right now you are good and are at peace and you know how loved you are."

Niall Horan and Louis Tomlinson both also penned emotional tributes to their late friend, as did many of Liam's loved ones, including members of his family, his ex Cheryl with whom he shared son Bear, his girlfriend Kate Cassidy, and many friends in the industry such as Robbie Williams, Paris Hilton, Justin Bieber, Halsey, Rita Ora, and many, many more.

Iris Goldsztajn
Iris Goldsztajn is a celebrity and royal news writer for Marie Claire. As a London-based freelance journalist, she writes about wellness, relationships, pop culture, beauty and more for the likes of InStyle, Women's Health, Bustle, Stylist and Red. Aside from her quasi-personal investment in celebs' comings and goings, Iris is especially interested in debunking diet culture and destigmatising mental health struggles. Previously, she was the associate editor for Her Campus, where she oversaw the style and beauty news sections, as well as producing gift guides, personal essays and celebrity interviews. There, she worked remotely from Los Angeles, after returning from a three-month stint as an editorial intern for Cosmopolitan.com in New York. As an undergraduate at the University of California, Los Angeles, she interned at goop and C California Style and served as Her Campus' national style and LGBTQ+ editor. Iris was born and raised in France by a French father and an English mother. Her Spotify Wrapped is riddled with country music and One Direction, and she can typically be found eating her body weight in cheap chocolate.