Liam Payne once had a strange encounter with disgraced rapper Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs! In a resurfaced video, the late One Direction star stated that he was scared after he met Combs at a party. While appearing in a 2017 episode of ‘The Graham Norton Show’, Payne talked about his intimidating encounter with Combs and other renowned celebrities like Jay-Z. Payne narrated the entire incident while sitting with fellow guests, Salma Hayek and David Williams. “I went over and thought, who’s the easy target in this scenario, who’s the one you go to say hello, and I’m thinking, ‘I saw him [Diddy] in Getting To The Greek, I’m gonna go over there and say hello to him,'” Payne said, as per Daily Mail. 

Recalling the incident, the ‘Strip That Down’ hitmaker further added, “So I thought P Diddy so I went out to shake his hand and as I shook his hand he just said, ‘Nice to meet you’, chuckle [he had] the most evil laugh I’ve ever heard. So, I’m a little bit fearful of that man.” During the interview, Payne also claimed that Combs held his hand for a long time and dubbed it ‘the longest handshake ever.” Then, Payne even wondered, “I’m like sat there looking into P Diddy’s eyes like when is this going to end?”

In the same interview, Payne also spoke about his encounter with Jay-Z and explained, “The worst of it then happened. There was a whole thing with Jay-Z and I went to lean in to speak to him, but you can’t lean into Jay-Z, you’re not allowed to lean in. His bodyguard just shoved me like this and I went flying across the room. I was like, right, I’m just going to sit over here with Ellie Goulding. It was a very awkward moment.”

Payne passed away at the age of 31 on October 31, 2024, after falling down from the third floor of a hotel in Argentina. And now, the fans have come up with conspiracy theories linking Payne’s death to Combs who is currently on trial on charges of sex trafficking and racketeering. As per Yahoo, one social media user tweeted, “Liam Payne was put off considerably when he met Diddy for the first time. Liam is now dead. I don’t think that is coincidental. Just putting that out there…,” Followed by a second user who theorized, “rumor is Liam Payne was about to testify against Diddy in 3 weeks is this true?” Another one chimed in, “Liam Payne went to a Diddy party… He got laughed at… Says he was fearful of Diddy. And Liam sees JayZ and DiCaprio. Fast forward…Diddy arrested. Attorney Tony Buzbee announces 120 new lawsuits coming out naming names involved. Liam “falls” out the window! Did he fall or get silenced?” One netizen quipped, “Liam Payne killed himself? Did P Diddy give him experiences he couldn’t deal with or was he about to reveal something.?A 31-year-old with the World at his feet is an odd one….”

This was the not first time that Payne talked about his weird encounter with Combs. In a 2017 interview with KIIS FM’s Kyle and Jackie O, Payne again delved deep into his unsettling encounter with Combs that took place at a star-studded party. As per Hindustan Times, Payne referred to his run-in with Combs as “the most daunting celebrity experience.” Then, Payne felt that Combs was the safest to approach but it turns out he misjudged the situation.