Trending badgeTrendingPosted 2 hours agoSubscribe to BuzzFeed Daily NewsletterCaret DownSimon Cowell Responded To People Saying He's "Responsible" For Liam Payne's DeathWhen asked whether he thinks he could have done anything differently, Simon replied, "I just don't know."by Chelsea StewartBuzzFeed StaffFacebookPinterestLink Simon Cowell has responded to people online blaming him for Liam Payne's death. Mike Marsland / Getty Images, Jc Olivera / Getty Images Simon signed Liam, Niall Horan, Harry Styles, Zayn Malik, and Louis Tomlinson to his label, Syco Records, after One Direction was formed on The X Factor. He maintained a close relationship with Liam even after the group disbanded in 2015 and continued to serve as his mentor. Jeff Kravitz / Getty Images Liam died in October 2024 after falling off a balcony in Argentina, and unfortunately, in the aftermath, some people began suggesting that Simon could have done more during his lifetime to support him. Justin Goff Photos / Getty Images Speaking on the Rolling Stone Music Now podcast earlier this week, Simon said he didn't pay attention to the accusations. "I don't read any of this stuff because if I did, you would just torture yourself," he said. "The idea that you are essentially responsible for somebody's life after you've signed someone? You can't do that." Albert L. Ortega / Getty Images Simon recalled seeing Liam a year before he died - and said nothing was concerning at the time. Ian Gavan / Getty Images "He came over to my house, and we spoke and - he looked amazing by the way," Simon shared. "I said, 'This is the best I've ever seen you. How are you?' And we talked about his son, being a dad, and what that means. And I remember saying to him about music. I said, 'Look, music is not everything by the way...don't let it run your life anymore. Find something else that you're passionate about, which will bring you happiness.'" Jeff Kravitz / Getty Images Simon said, if he had known what would happen, "of course," he would go back to that moment, but at the time, "I felt really good about him. I thought, wow, you seem in a really good place, and I was trying to give him some good advice just about life in general... We just spent three or four hours talking, and I didn't feel worried about him after he left." Karwai Tang / Getty Images Simon added that he always encouraged Liam to reach out. Dominic Lipinski / Getty Images "I always say to anyone, 'I'm here if you need me,'" he said. "When he reached out to me, it was not like, 'Simon, I really need your help.' It was just, 'I just want to see you. I miss you.' And I'm like, 'Great, I miss you, too, so let's spend the afternoon together,' and it was brilliant." Listen to the full episode here.