One Direction’s Louis Tomlinson Feuds With BBC Breakfast Over ‘Painful’ Questions

By Christopher Vourlias

LOS ANGELES (Variety.com) – Former One Direction singer Louis Tomlinson has said he’ll never return to BBC One’s morning news program BBC Breakfast, after being asked about the deaths of his mother and sister on the popular show earlier today.

Tomlinson was appearing on Monday’s program to promote his debut solo album “Walls.” During the broadcast, hosts Dan Walker and Louise Minchin touched on the subject of grief while asking the singer about his songwriting process. Tomlinson’s mother died of leukemia in 2016, and he lost his sister, Félicité, to an accidental drug overdose last year.

The star tried to redirect the line of questioning, noting: “I’ve just released my first album. That’s what we’re here for.”

The presenters also asked about Tomlinson’s high-profile falling out with former bandmate Zayn Malik, before raising the possibility of a One Dimension reunion. The singer-songwriter appeared miffed. “You’ve ticked them all off – trauma, Zayn, and we’re finally on this one,” he said.

But as for a potential reunion, he conceded: “It’s inevitable. I don’t know when. We’d be stupid not to get back together.”

After the show, Tomlinson took to Twitter to air his grievances to his 33.5 million followers, tweeting: “Defo won’t be going on there again Haha! Love to all my fans for always having my back.”

Not long afterward, Walker responded: “Sorry you feel like that. It was nice to speak to you on #BBCBreakfast this morning. Can I ask what you are upset about?”

The 28-year-old singer-songwriter replied: “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. The least I ask is that you respect my decision of not wanting to be asked in interviews about something so painfull (sic).”

He continued: “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.”

Walker appeared sympathetic, replying: “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. That’s not our style on #BBCBreakfast.”

Tomlinson’s first solo album features the song “Two of Us,” an emotional tribute to his mother, which includes the lyrics, “You’ll never know how much I miss you/The day that they took you, I wish it was me instead.” The video has more than 10.5 million views on YouTube.

A BBC spokesperson told Variety: “We wanted to cover all aspects of Louis’ life that have influenced his new album and feel the questioning was fair.”