A hotel employee who was charged in connection to the death of Liam Payne has come forward to deny accusations that he sold the One Direction bandmate drugs.
Braian Nahuel Paiz, a former waiter at one of the CasaSur Palermo Hotel in Buenos Aires, was identified by authorities as one of the people allegedly involved in Payne’s death, which occurred last month after he fell from the third floor of his hotel room. In response to the accusations, Paiz spoke to Argentinian media over the weekend to share his side of the story, while shedding light on the interaction he had with Payne prior to his death.
“The truth is that I didn’t supply Liam with drugs,” Paiz told local news outlets. The waiter claimed that while he was not involved in supplying drugs to Payne, he did meet the singer while working at the hotel’s restaurant, where the pair allegedly “exchanged contact information.” Paiz said Payne was dining with his girlfriend, Kate Cassidy, and two other people at the time of their encounter. “We saw each other that night, it was all normal,” Paiz said.
The hotel employee went on to claim that Payne later helped him find his way around the hotel, since he “didn’t know how to get around and he went to get me.” After that, it’s alleged that Payne took Paiz to his hotel room, where he played some of his unreleased music and shared a few “shots of Whiskey.” That, according to Paiz, was not Payne’s only form of inebriant during their hang-out, which he said lasted one and half hours and was fuelled by more than just alcohol on Payne’s part.
“[Authorities] are saying that he was not under the influence before getting to [CasaSur Palermo Hotel], but the reality is that he was already on drugs,” Paiz alleged. He then claimed the singer “didn’t eat” during their hang-out, and later asked him for a drug dealer’s contact information. After that, Paiz alleged that the pair “did drugs together,” and stayed in contact via direct messages on Payne’s fake Instagram account.
Paiz said he refused an offer to hang out with Payne another time, and admitted that the singer was very “scared” and “paranoid” days before he passed. According to toxicology reports, Payne was found to be under the influence of drugs at the time of his death, with an antidepressant, cocaine and pink cocaine found in his system. The singer’s death was not ruled a suicide.
It comes as more details around Payne’s death continue to emerge, including the police raid of his friend’s house in connection to his death, his alleged interaction with an OnlyFans model days before passing away, and his father’s vow to testify in the ongoing investigation. In the wake of his death, well-wishes have flown for Payne from within the music industry, with each of his former One Direction bandmates paying tribute on social media. Rita Ora, Halsey, and Zedd were also among those to pay tribute, as well as statements from Payne’s sister.
The singer’s death also placed scrutiny on X Factor — the reality competition series that shot him into the spotlight — with Katie Waissel and Rebecca Ferguson taking aim at the show and Simon Cowell for exploiting its young contestants. In the wake of Payne’s passing, multiple One Direction songs skyrocketed back to the top of the music charts.