"He was telling us something"— Fans react as Liam Payne's IG post with symbols bearing resemblance to FBI code words goes viral

British singer Liam Payne passed away on October 16 at the CasaSur Palermo Hotel in Buenos Aires, Argentina, at the age of 31. He died after falling from the third floor balcony of his hotel room. Following his demise, a post on the social media platform X has gone viral.

Posted by Shadow of Ezra, the post highlighted one of Liam Payne’s latest Instagram posts from February 2024, which featured random symbols. It compared these symbols to certain FBI symbols and code words related to p*dophilia, including a swirl and a two-sided heart, which reportedly refer to “little boy lover” and “child lover” respectively.

“A bizarre post on Liam Payne’s Instagram featured symbols which looked similar to FBI-identified p*dophile code words. Payne was seen destroying his laptop in the hotel lobby before he ‘fell’ out of his window,” the X post was captioned.

The viral post compares symbols on Liam Payne's IG post to FBI code words. (Image via X/ShadowOfEzra)

Since the post became viral, several others speculated whether Liam Payne was trying to send an indirect message through his post, which otherwise seemed like a promotion for his latest song, Teardrops. Another influencer, The Maverick Approach (@Maveapproach), commented:

“He was telling us something.”

He also shared his own video, trying to explain how Payne joined One Direction in 2010 when he was only 16 years old and may have been a victim of child abuse. He even attached Liam’s old video talking about his bitter experience on the sets of The X Factor. The internet personality further insinuated that the likes of Sean “Diddy” Combs and Simon Cowell may have been involved in the alleged exploitation.

Many others joined the conversation and shared similar reactions.

“These symbols are everywhere in America too. Looks like Liam was involved in child trafficking. Or maybe he was trying to expose it. We shall find out soon,” a person wrote.

“The minute I read about this, my gut instinct was, ‘He knew something & was about to reveal it,’” one person wrote.

“Was he diddled when he was younger? And did they diddle him a 2nd time when was about to tell all?” wrote another.

“This whole thing smells fishy,” a user wrote.

Others continued to speculate and claimed that Liam Payne was probably on his way to testify against Diddy in the latter’s ongoing federal case.

“So, we’re supposed to believe he destroyed his laptop and then ‘fell’ out of a window? After hearing his story about Diddy, I’d be he knew something he wasn’t supposed to know,” a netizen wrote.

“Was he gonna speak up on Diddy? You can’t make this stuff up,” one netizen wrote.

“I had this thought when I heard the news that he could have been another victim like JB. Not saying that’s the case, just a thought,” an individual wrote.

“I'm guessing he was a Diddy victim and being subpoenaed to testify?” wrote another.

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Liam Payne once shared having “the most daunting celebrity experience” with Diddy

During a May 2017 interview with the Australian radio station KIIS FM, Liam Payne shared his most embarrassing and humiliating experience, meeting Diddy at a star-studded party. He mentioned how he thought Combs was the most approachable, or rather a “safe bet,” among him, Jay-Z, and Leonardo DiCaprio, who were all standing together. However, when he went to introduce himself, he received an odd response.

“I went over to speak to him and Jay-Z, and as I shook his hand, he just chuckled... the most evil laugh I've ever heard… So, I'm a little bit fearful of that man,” the former 1D member mentioned.

Later, he said, “Obviously, I missed the mark a little bit” and described the encounter as “the most daunting celebrity experience” ever.

Around the same time, he narrated the same story on The Graham Norton Show as a guest alongside David Williams and Salma Hayek. Liam Payne mentioned that, in addition to Diddy's intimidating laugh, he shook his hand for the longest time, leaving him eager for the moment to end. At the same party, he also recalled being “shoved” by Jay-Z’s bodyguards.