Tragic Liam Payne Shared Batman Obsession With Secret Pal Matthew Perry: 'They Were In Contact' Before One Direction Star’s Drug-Fueled Balcony Plunge
Liam Payne shared 'Batman' obsession with secret pal Matthew Perry.
Nov. 22 2024, Published 11:42 a.m. ET
Tormented Liam Payne poured out his heart to fellow Batman-obsessed star Matthew Perry in the months leading up to the Friends favorite's death.
Both Payne and Perry had formed a bond over their love of the comic book and silver screen crime-fighting hero, RadarOnline.com can reveal.
Perry died in his LA hot hub in October 2023 after taking drugs aged 54. Payne fell to his death after taking a cocktail of narcotics in Buenos Aires, Argentina, almost exactly a year later.
Both global superstars had battled drink and drug problems as they struggled to cope with their worldwide fame.
Payne was found with a mix of hard drugs in his system at his time of death, toxicology reports confirmed.
A source told us: "They had been friends on the quiet for many months before Matthew's death. They found they were kindred spirits: two men who found it tough to deal with the price of fame and two guys who escaped their demons with the help of drink and drugs.
"They also shared a love of Batman and superheroes in general. The comic world was an escape for them. They often chatted online about their shared love for the fantasy world of Batman. It hit Liam very hard when Matthew died but he also understood more than most people the type of life he had lived."
Payne’s obsession with Batman was one of the focuses of his final goodbye.
The One Direction singer – laid to rest at St Mary’s Church in Amersham, south-east England, on Wednesday just over more than a month after his shocking balcony fall death – showed his fixation for the comic book vigilante with a string of cars that arrived for his funeral decorated with Batman stickers.
Tributes to the late One Direction singer were evident across the globe as fans mourned his tragic death.
Payne spent years "obsessed" with the character and he had a life-size cutout of the superhero in his room at one point.
He also showcased his hero worship of Batman on social media.
The singer posted a photo of himself on X, formerly known as Twitter, in 2013 wearing a Caped Crusader hat, which he captioned: "For those of you who have doubted me and now turn to hate I’d like to say one thing… I am Batman."
He was also snapped in 2017 wearing a Lego Batman chain.
Witnesses said the troubled pop star made several trips from his room to the hotel lobby in the minutes before his death.
Payne also celebrated one of his birthdays with a Batman-themed cake.
But he pulled off an alarming high-rise stunt a decade before falling to his death from his hotel balcony.
Following the news of his untimely death, a chilling photo resurfaced of him teetering on a ledge of his 34-floor London apartment building in 2014.
The image showed Payne standing dangerously close to the edge of a narrow terrace that he may have accessed from his unit’s balcony.
Payne's final moments were recently revealed in captured CCTV footage from the CasaSur Hotel.
The UK-born musician wore jeans and a flannel shirt as he conducted the scary stunt at nightfall.
The snap, taken the same night of bandmate Zayn Malik’s 21st birthday, was shared online by one of Payne’s friends at the time but swiftly deleted.
It moved him to post: "You may have seen a photo of me today taken on top of a building. I regret being there and having a photo taken."
Showbiz pal Perry was a big fan of Batman, and in the months leading up to his death, he posted about the superhero on Instagram seven times.
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Showbiz pal Perry was a big fan of 'Batman'.
He also referred to himself as "Mattman" in some of his posts.
Perry's love of Batman began in childhood, and he had a "Batcave" in his home. In his 2022 memoir, Friends, Lovers, and the Big Terrible Thing, Perry wrote about using Batman to connect with his actor father, who he called his superhero.
Perry would say, "you be Superman and I'll be Batman" when he went for walks with his father.
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