Louis Tomlinson Slams Reporter Who Asked Him About His Late Mom and Sister
Louis Tomlinson said he’ll never return to BBC Breakfast after being asked about the deaths of his mother and sister.
On Monday (February 3), the former One Direction member appeared on the popular BBC One morning news show to promote his debut solo album Walls, which was released on January 31. During the interview, he was asked "painful" questions, including whether his grief helped his songwriting process.
"Do you feel that at some stage 'oh I've put too much of myself in there' or is that part of helping you in writing that way as well about the loss of your mum and your sister and other things?" host Dan Walker asked.
Tomlinson, who tried to redirect the line of questioning by changing the subject, said “I’ve just released my first album. That’s what we’re here for." But then, the reporters asked him about his falling out with former bandmate Zayn Malik and whether there a One Direction reunion was ever going to happen.
"You’ve ticked them all off – trauma, Zayn, and we’re finally on this one," the pop star said.
Following the broadcast, the singer vowed to never go on the show again. "Defo wont be going on there again Haha! Love to all my fans for always having my back," he tweeted.
The reporter responded to the singer's tweet, writing, "Sorry you feel like that. It was nice to speak to you on #BBCBreakfast this morning. Can I ask what you are upset about?"
Tomlinson, whose mother Johannah died of leukemia in 2016 and sister Félicité died of an accidental overdose last year, claimed Walker "continued" to probe him on the subject in an attempt to use his pain to gain viewers.
"I was upset that you continued to ask me about my grief. It goes without saying how hard it is to lose both people so close to me," Tomlinson replied. "The least I ask is that you respect my decision of not wanting to be asked in interviews about something so painful."
"I'm lucky enough to have a creative outlet for me to talk about grief this doesn't however, give you the right to talk about it for gossip purposes," Tomlinson wrote in another tweet.
Walker continued to defend BBC, writing, "We were asking you about the song on your new album about your mum. We know it’s painful which is why we didn’t dwell on it. No intention to upset you or be ‘gossipy’ about it at all."
Tomlinson has yet to reply, but he did tweet: "Anyway f--k the negativity now. It's been a siiiiick week."