Liam Payne Addresses Controversial Comments Made During One Direction Concert; Says He Is Absolutely Not 'Homophobic'

Liam Payne has come under fire for comments he made during a One Direction concert in Ohio Tuesday night. While performing “Girl Almighty” alongside his bandmates Payne, 21, addressed the audience. He said the song's point, “trying to find that number one woman of your life,” would be hard to relate to as most the audience was female, which landed him in heaps of trouble.

Now, according to Yahoo, Payne is speaking out about the comments and sharing his frustrations with fans. The British singer released a lengthy rant on Twitter Wednesday in which he assured his more than 20 million followers he was “in no way shape or form homophobic.” Payne added that it was “annoying” that he’s constantly focused on bettering himself for the fans -- hitting the right notes and putting on better shows -- while they seem to only be able to concentrate on nitpicking his every move. In the end, he did apologize to those that were truly offended by his comments, adding that he simply wants to put smiles of the faces of his fans.

As was reported on Independent UK, fans took to Twitter following the concert to demand he address what he said, saying things like, “girls can like girls Liam ur better than this.” Others stuck by the One Direction singer, accepting his apology and acknowledging that it was a clear misunderstanding.

There has been no shortage of controversy surrounding One Direction or its members -- and former members -- as of late. Zayn Malik, who left the band in April, has been making headlines after reportedly calling off his engagement to Little Mix member Perrie Edwards via text message. He has been accused of throwing shade at his ex and her girl group on Twitter on several occasions since their Aug. 4 split. Louis Tomlinson also recently made waves after it came to light that the British pop star was expecting a child with Briana Jungwirth. He confirmed the exciting news during an interview with “Good Morning America” (via Us Weekly) in which he claimed he was “buzzing” with excitement.