Liam Payne's friend Roger Nores – who was with him during his last chaotic days in Buenos Aires – is suing Liam's father for allegedly defaming him in the media in the weeks following Liam's death.
Roger filed a defamation lawsuit on Thursday Geoff Payne because he said Roger should have been looking after Liam at the time of his death. According to documents obtained by TMZ, Roger said Geoff submitted an affidavit to Buenos Aires police in which he stated that Roger took “full responsibility for Liam's care during this final period of time when I was away.”
But Roger strongly denies this, saying in the lawsuit: “He never consented to be Liam's carer, nor has he ever been.” He admits they were “dear friends” and supported each other, but says, that it was never a paying job for him.
Remember, Buenos Aires prosecutors did it Roger invited in Liam's death… and accused him of abandoning Liam shortly before his death.
In the lawsuit, Roger accuses Geoff of failing to exchange several emails between him and Roger – in an August 2024 email, Roger said he told Geoff he “couldn't continue to spend the same amount of time as a friend.” “to support Liam” and that Geoff had to take action about Liam's condition… a reference to the One Direction singer's battle with addiction.
Roger says he and Geoff actually spoke in September 2024 and he asked Liam's father to come to Wellington, FL – where Liam lived – and look after his son. He says that as far as he knows, Geoff never came.
In his lawsuit, Roger points out that Geoff's allegedly false statements spread around the world when TMZ obtained police documents containing his claims about Roger. These documents were featured in our documentary Liam Payne: Who's to Blame? …in which we also interviewed Roger.
According to the lawsuit, Roger stands by what he told us – that he did not infect Liam with narcotics. He says he “never supplied Liam with recreational drugs and never controlled the medications Liam prescribed.”
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As for who should actually care about Liam…well, Roger points the finger at a few people. According to the documents, Geoff trusted one of Liam's bodyguards. Bledar Vatato be a “paid caretaker” – but when Liam fired Vata, “Geoff, as Liam's self-appointed caretaker, never provided for a temporary or new bodyguard caretaker.”
He also points out that in September and October 2024, Liam lived with his girlfriend Kate Cassidy in Florida and in some hotels in Argentina. Although he doesn't blame her directly, Roger says she “had a unique sense of capacity, opportunity and excellent knowledge of Liam's activities and needs.”
In the lawsuit, Roger summarizes Liam's tragic death by saying his friend was fiercely independent but struggled with addiction for years and entered a treatment facility.
Roger says he will donate all the money he is owed from the lawsuit to Liam's son Bear.