Liam Payne has been called out for his comments. Photo / Getty Images
Liam Payne has been called out for his comments. Photo / Getty Images
Former One Direction star Liam Payne has caused a stir online over his admission about co-parenting his son with his ex-partner left fans "speechless".
In a wide-ranging chat on controversial YouTuber Logan Paul's podcast, Impaulsive, the 28-year-old – who shares four-year-old Bear with his ex, fellow British singer Cheryl Cole – said she'd taken the reins on looking after their child.
Payne described the 38-year-old, who he met when he was a contestant on The X Factor in 2008, and dated between 2016 and 2018, as the "best mum in the world", adding, "I couldn't ask for someone better".
But it's what he said next that had social media users and fans up in arms, prompting them to brand him an "absentee father" who had left Cheryl to carry the weight of raising their son alone.
"The relationship we have now as friends have only grown more. We broke up for a reason and now she gives me full autonomy of my life to be able to go and do what I do, and at the same time I know [Bear] is being taken care of because he is all she cares about," he said.
Cheryl and Liam Payne at the BRIT Awards in 2018. The couple split in 2018 after two years of dating. Photo / Getty Images
The singer added that he takes his son to school once or twice a week, declaring it "so much fun and I know he loves it too".
"The other day he was asleep, and his mum said to him, 'Morning sunshine'. And then my deep voice came in saying 'Morning' and he went 'huh!'," Payne recalled.
"And he went, 'Wow daddy, that was the biggest surprise of my life, you being here today'. That's the best s***, taking care of him and watching him grow."
The former boy band star also said that he is "in constant conversation" with himself about Bear's future, and has set up several companies which he will offer to his son.
"He can run them one day if he wants to, or if he wants, he can sell them. That's his choice," Payne said.
"I always glue myself to where is, I owe it to him. My life is now his, my money is his."
Payne with his then-newborn son Bear. Photo / Instagram
But under a viral clip on TikTok dissecting the comments, posted by user @fionnualajay, users described Payne's parenting style as more "Daddy Warbucks", saying the four-year-old would more likely rather his company than his cash.
"'I get to be an absentee father but it's fine because I substitute love with money'," one wrote, impersonating Payne's admission.
"So what he's saying is that he gets to live without parental responsibility and he's glad she's doing all of it," commented another.
"Translation: I get to do whatever I want and she has to do all the hard work parenting … but I take him to school twice a week! I can pay him!" wrote a third.
"This is what I always thought … he does whatever while she raises him – didn't expect him to say it out loud tho," one woman commented, with another adding, "I'm still speechless."
Liam Payne's admission about Cheryl giving him "full autonomy" rubbed social media users up the wrong way. Photos / TikTok
It wasn't the only parenting comment Payne made during the chat that raised eyebrows.
Elsewhere he admitted to Paul that having Bear with Cheryl "ruined their relationship – but for all the right reasons".
"I like to talk to other new dads. You don't know what is coming and it's different," he said.
"And to be honest with you, it ruined a relationship for me at that point, but for all the right reasons. I was so excited for him to be born that I was actually worried if I wouldn't love him enough."
Payne explained that Cheryl haemorrhaged "quite badly" during birth, meaning he had to take care of Bear alone for the first 24 hours.
"It was me and a baby in the room and I was 23 and had to take care of it and I didn't even have any baby sisters or anything. It was fun," he said.
"The end of the night was me playing FIFA with my little boy on my arm like 'this is the coolest thing ever'."
