Liam Payne is in trouble with LGBTQ Twitter users. They say he fetishized bisexual women in one of his new songs.
Payne is not having a great end to the release of his solo album. With One Direction on “hiatus” and expected to stay that way for some time, the bandmates have been branching off on their own. Louis Tomlinson released music earlier this year, Zayn Malik has been doing his own thing for some time now, and Harry Styles is trending for viral videos and potential Disney castings. But while Styles is being called a bi icon, Liam Payne is gaining the hatred of bisexual people.
Today, Payne released his first solo album, LP1. Unfortunately for him, one of the songs instantly ignited the ire of Twitter. The song “Both Ways” is at the center of this controversy. The song depicts a sexual relationship between Liam Payne and a bisexual girlfriend. Many have responded negatively to how the lyrics focus heavily on the girlfriend’s sexual orientation. This has resulted in #LiamPayneIsOverParty trending on Twitter.
“My girl, she like it both ways/She like the way it all taste/Couple more, we’ll call it foreplay,” Payne sings.
The calls of fetishization are one thing, but Twitter users were quick to quote a 2017 interview in which Payne mocked bandmate Harry Styles. In the interview, Payne talked about the early stages of fatherhood post the birth of his son Bear. He then was asked which of his One Direction bandmates he’d rather have babysitting his boy.
When thinking of Styles, who has openly expressed bisexual attraction and experiments with his clothing style, Payne said, “I couldn’t rely on Harry ’cause I feel like my child would come out dressed in something that I just wouldn’t understand.”
To be fair though, Liam Payne did jokingly mock the other One Direction members during his ranking. But, the sentiment behind his words for Styles remain.
In the midst of this controversy, Liam Payne and his representation have yet to release a comment.
