Louis Tomlinson has said he “can’t ever imagine” the surviving members of One Direction performing together again after the death of Liam Payne.
During an appearance on The Diary of a CEO podcast, which aired on Thursday, the singer spoke about whether the former boy band — which also included Harry Styles, Zayn Malik, and Niall Horan — might reunite in the future.
While Louis admitted it’s a case of “never say never,” he acknowledged that the chances of it happening are slim following Liam’s passing.
Liam, known for his solo hit Strip That Down, died after falling from a third-floor balcony at a hotel in Buenos Aires, Argentina, in October 2024. He was 31.
“I can’t ever imagine… I’m not sure it would be right to (Liam),” Louis told host Steven Bartlett. “For the sake of argument, say in 25 years, and it’s like a f**king Oasis thing… they offer us an arm and a leg and they’re like, ‘Come back and do this number of shows.’ I don’t know… And the irony is, there’s no one who would have campaigned more for One Direction to come back than Liam. I’d say I came in a close second.”
Elsewhere in the conversation, Louis looked back on the meeting that led to One Direction going on indefinite hiatus in 2016.
“I think there’s kind of moments where you have to be selfish. It was an atmosphere that you never really felt in the band, because normally… it’s all this camaraderie,” the 33-year-old explained. “Then all of a sudden, you get someone thinking more independently and more for themselves, which, by the way, they have every right to do. But the room felt cold that day… I’ve never quite felt an energy like that in the room. There was this emptiness.”
Louis also opened up about how he felt when Zayn left the group in March 2015.
He admitted he was “crushed” when the news broke but said he understood why Zayn hadn’t told him beforehand. Louis believed his friend knew he would have tried to change his mind.
Louis is preparing to release his third studio album, How Did I Get Here?, on 23 January 2026.
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