Former One Direction member Liam Payne has posted a video confessing that he entered a 100-day sobriety treatment program.
Titled "I'm Back...", the 8-minute YouTube video appears to be the first in a series, as he promises more content is coming. Shot as a confessional, Payne addresses the backlash he faced after negative comments regarding his former 1D bandmates, including Zayn Malik.
“My own frustrations with my own career and where I kind of landed, I took shots at everybody else which is wrong," he says in a darkly lit room. "Obviously, I want to apologize for that, in the first instance, because that’s definitely not me. One of the biggest remarks I made was about the One Direction thing … and a lot of self-protection, I suppose, in that moment, more than anything. The rest of the boys really stuck by me when I needed them most, they kinda came to the rescue. Even Zayn, as well, which is why I did send him a little thank you online. It came across really big-headed didn’t it?”
Referring to his 100 days in rehab, he says, "I just kind of feel like I’ve got more of a grip on life and everything that was getting away from me, I just feel like I’ve got more of a handle on it. I just needed to take a little bit of time out for myself actually because I kind of became somebody who I didn’t really recognize anymore. And I’m sure you guys didn’t either. I was in bad shape up until that point and I was really happy to kind of put a stopper to life and work.”
He added that he is now focusing on becoming a better person, but also a better father to his son, Bear.
“There’s no point trying to be a dad when you’ve got nothing to teach," he admits. "And I don’t think up until this point I really had much to say to him other than what just what came from loving him very deeply. Which are obviously the most important things, but I just kind of feel like I’ve got more of a grip on life now.”
Payne did not give any update on his next album, after teasing it back in March, but he did promote his upcoming South American tour, which begins in Lima, Peru on September 1.
Watch the full video below.