Liam Payne's friend Rogelio "Roger" Nores is speaking out on his friendship with the One Direction alum weeks after he was cleared of manslaughter charges in relation to Payne's tragic death last year.

Payne died October 16, 2024, when he was just 31 years old after falling from a hotel balcony in Buenos Aires, Argentina. In the subsequent investigation, it was determined drugs and alcohol were factors in his death and multiple people were taken into custody, including multiple hotel workers.

In December, Nores was also charged with manslaughter after allegedly "failing to fulfill his duties of care, assistance and help" to Payne and that he "abandoned him" despite knowing he was suffering from "multiple addictions," per People. The charges against him were dropped in February.

After reports that the charges against him had been dropped, the Argentinian businessman spoke with Reuters in an interview published March 7 where he opened up about his friendship with the English musician and the difficulty watching someone he cared about struggle with addiction. His lawyer Rafael Cuneo Libaron, who was also present for the interview, claimed that Nores even sent his friend's family an email prior to his death recommending that he go to rehab.

"As a friend, you see them having a drug problem and you do what you can, but at the end of the day it's their decision," he said, adding, "You start seeing a chain of events, and it was just bad luck — it happened in a way that ended in tragedy."

Payne's sudden passing hit fans hard, with some even directing ire toward Nores during the investigation, something that he also addressed in the interview.

"When someone you grew up with, with their voice, their songs, and all of a sudden they're gone, it's hard to deal with," he said. "They're trying to find an explanation."

Amid the legal drama, Nores also sued Payne's father Geoff Payne for defamation, claiming he made sworn statements shared by the media that were "false, contained material omissions, and many parts were not based on personal knowledge." The lawsuit also alleges that Nores' friendship with the late singer was misrepresented and that they were just "mutual dear friends" but that he "did not have a legal duty to Liam."

Denise Plante