Liam Payne has managed to become the second most-talked-about moment of this year’s Oscars after debuting a ‘bizarre’ new accent.
The former One Direction musician was interviewed on the red carpet at the 94th Academy Awards.
He was asked live on Good Morning Britain about the shocking moment Will Smith climbed up on stage to slap Chris Rock following the host’s joke about Jada Pinkett-Smith.
A video clip of Liam’s interview has been seen more than 1.5 million times at the time of writing – and thousands are questioning what’s happened to his accent.
'I believe whatever he felt that he did, he had the right to do.'
'I had to leave my chair I'll be honest with you, it cut me really deep.'@LiamPayne reacts to the dramatic moment Will Smith hit comedian Chris Rock on stage at the Oscars for making a joke about his wife. pic.twitter.com/OGT4bA8jDi
The singer is originally from Wolverhampton, but people have said he sounds Welsh, Irish, American and Dutch all at once in his TV appearance today.
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In a slightly rambling interview, Liam said: “I don’t have a dog in this fight. There were three losers in this fight. And what happened is very sad, I hope everybody’s okay, like I really reach out to you guys, I hope you’re okay.”
He also added, speaking of Will Smith’s later acceptance speech: “It’s a very sad thing, but there was a powerful moment for me to sit and watch one of the world’s best emoters in the, ever, we’ve seen, speak from the heart. I would rather take the beauty out of the situation than take the pain.
“But I had to leave my chair, I’ll be honest with you, it cut me really deep. And I don’t get deep about these things, but I’m a big movie fan I’ll be honest with you.”
One person said that Liam’s accent switch was ‘quietly the best piece of content surrounding the Will Smith incident’, adding: “Liam Payne gushing like an LA wellness influencer about ‘one of the world’s greatest emoters’, in a hybrid accent of totally inexplicable origin + managing to drop in that he sold out Madison Sq Garden.”
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Journalist Josh Knapman quipped: “Will Smith smacked Chris Rock so hard, Liam Payne’s accent changed.”
Liam Payne speaking with a new accent in an interview to Good Morning Britain after the Will Smith slap at the Oscars. Credit: Twitter, @GMB
Someone else wrote: “Always good to hear from Liam Payne of Wolverhampton, Netherlands.”
Another posted: “Liam Payne now holds the record for most accents produced in one single interview. Top work, fella!”
And someone else commented: “It’s so funny that Liam Payne is objectively gorgeous but manages to be the least sexy person in the entire world.”
Featured image: Twitter, @GMB
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Boyzone to reunite for exclusive New Year’s Eve special on the BBC
Danny Jones
2025 has very much been the year of the comeback – be it Oasis, Britpop fashion in general, or short bobs and pixie cuts – so it’s only fitting that we round off the calendar with one last reunion, as throwback boyband Boyzone are set to feature on a TV special on the BBC this New Year’s Eve.
Turns out ‘All That I Need’ to make a year memorable is a load of 1990s nostalgia.
Now, obviously, despite plenty of other music names enjoying a second renaissance over the past 12 months or so, nothing is ever going to be quite as big as the Oasis Live ’25 reunion tour.
However, if you asked us to guess which group from the era were also going to reunite this year back in January, there’s not a chance we would’ve said Boyzone.
Boyzone are telling us about coming back together for one final run in their most unforgettable concerts yet 🎤
After news first began circulating earlier this week, it has now been confirmed that musician turned presenter Ronan Keating will be getting back together with two of his former bandmates.
Joining the 48-year-old for ‘Ronan & Friends: A New Year’s Eve Party’, ex-Boyzone members Keith Duffy and Shane Lynch are part of an exciting live music lineup.
Other names include actor and singer, Shona McGarty, who recently starred on season 25 of I’m A Celeb, as well as fellow 90s pop artist Louise Redknapp and singer-songwriter Calum Scott.
The exclusive reunion comes after the success of the recently aired Boyzone: No Matter What documentary show.
Spread across three parts on Sky, the docuseries (named after their hit song from 1998) looks back on the career and journey up the charts back in their heyday, all the way up to the present. After seemingly striking a chord with fans and the lads themselves, it looks like they’re not done after all…
Yes, not only is the festive TV special going to see three of the original members performing alongside each other again, but
Here’s hoping that turns into a springboard for something even bigger, and we get a Manchester arena show sometime soon.
As for the programme itself, ‘Ronan & Friends: A New Year’s Eve Party’ will be broadcast on BBC One and made available on BBC iPlayer from Wednesday, 31 December 2025.
One in 10 Brits are fired or disciplined after their work’s Christmas party, new survey finds
Emily Sergeant
We’re in peak office Christmas party season right now.
With just a week to go until the big day itself is here, many businesses across the UK are treating their staff to night out to celebrate both the festive season and all of the hard work they have been putting in throughout the year… and as you can expect, these are usually quite eventful gatherings, shall we say.
But now, a survey by has shed light on just how ‘eventful’ they actually are, as a new survey has revealed that, apparently, one in ten Brits face some sort of disciplinary action or dismissal due to their behaviour at Christmas parties.
The study was conducted by After Drink, and included more than 2,000 participants.
During the research, it was highlighted that 89% of employees admitted to drinking alcohol at these events, Lad Bible reports – with 65% of these confessing that they drank “excessively”.
One in 10 Brits get fired or disciplined after their work’s Christmas party / Credit: Kraken Images | Mimi Thian (via Unsplash)
There are a multitude of incidents which could lead to disciplinary action in the workplace nowadays, but according to the survey, some of the common reasons following festive celebrations with colleagues included inappropriate comments (23%) and even getting into fights (21%).
16% of these incidents were because of drug use during the event, while inappropriate interactions with colleagues accounted for 14%.
Some of the legal reasons you can be fired from your place of work after a Christmas party include gross misconduct, drunken behaviour, and fighting of any kind.
Despite all these risks, however, Christmas parties still remain as popular as always, and a whopping 79% of respondents said they are planning to attend theirs this year.
Daisy Jackson -
28th March 2022 
