Liam Payne's dad sued for defamation by singer's friend
Liam Payne performs at the Brit Awards at the O2 Arena in London, Britain on Feb 21, 2018.
PHOTO: Reuters file
PUBLISHED ONJanuary 17, 2025 1:35 AM
Liam Payne's dad Geoff Payne is being sued for defamation by Roger Nores.
The former One Direction star died in October 2024 at the age of 31 following a fall from a hotel balcony in Buenos Aires. Now, his friend Roger — who was with him in the Argentinian city — has decided to take Payne to court, claiming that the "false and defamatory" statements about him to a prosecutor led to arrest and manslaughter charges being placed upon him.
Payne had claimed in "sworn declarations" to police that Roger was part of a "care group" dedicated to his son because he "could not be left alone in the vulnerable situation in which he was" but now the former manager has said that the declarations are "false, contained material omissions, and many parts were not based on personal knowledge".
According to the lawsuit — which was filed on Wednesday (Jan 15) in Florida — Roger is seeking damages of US$10 million (S$13.6 million).
He also insisted that he and Liam were just "mutual dear friends" and nothing more.
Roger claimed that Payne's statements impacted his reputation in "mega proportions with extensive damages".
But, according to Roger, the net financial proceeds of the judicial proceedings will go to the benefit of Liam's son Bear, who he had with Girls Aloud singer Cheryl.
Roger told Rolling Stone: "All the proceeds will be donated to my friend's son.
"Payne needs to backtrack on his [sworn] statement as he very well knows I wasn't Liam's nurse or caretaker. Liam, who I miss every day, was my dear friend and an independent, brilliant, respectful free man who did whatever he wanted whenever he wanted."
In November, Roger told how he saw Liam less than an hour before his fatal fall as he dismissed claims police had raided his home in connection with the tragedy.
Roger told MailOnline: "I never abandoned Liam, I went to his hotel three times that day and left 40 minutes before this happened.
"There were over 15 people at the hotel lobby chatting and joking with him when I left.
"I could have never imagined something like this would happen.
"I've given my statement to the prosecutor on Oct 17 as a witness and I haven't spoken to any police officer or prosecutor ever since.
"I wasn't Liam's manager, he was just my very dear friend and please refer to the email I sent to Liam and his team on Aug 23.
"I'm really heart-broken with this tragedy, and I've been missing my friend every day."
Source: Bang
