Liam Payne’s accent has seriously confused fans after he was heard weighing in on the dramatic moment Will Smith hit comedian Chris Rock on stage at the Oscars.
Smith, who won his first Academy Award for King Richard, appeared to take offence to a joke Rock made about his wife Jada Pinkett Smith’s short haircut and hit him before returning to his seat and shouting twice: ‘Keep my wife’s name out of your f****** mouth.’
Former One Direction singer Payne was asked for his thoughts on the events at hand during an interview live on Good Morning Britain, however, his voice proved a distraction for many.
‘Will Smith actually used to live behind my house, I’ve had the pleasure of knowing his son and his daughter very well,’ the artist began, in an unusual twang. ‘We did Men In Black III with him.
‘I believe whatever he felt that he did, he had the right to do. I also felt there were three losers in one fight. He didn’t know, being Chris Rock, he didn’t want to do what he had to do, being Will Smith, and she did nothing, being Jada.’
Here’s what Liam Payne used to sound like
Confused by his voice, many flooded social media with their comments, with one saying he sounds Dutch.
‘Watching @GMB and what the hell has happened to Liam Payne’s accent?!’ one asked. ‘He has an American twang but at times he sounds like he isn’t even English!’
Echoing a similar sentiment, another added: ‘Why is @LiamPayne speaking like this what accent does he have now.’
Payne originally hails from Wolverhampton but has lived in Hollywood for some time, which has perhaps impacted his accent, but as for the Italian-sounding twang, we have no idea.
In interviews in recent years, Payne has spoken in his usual voice, so it appears his new enunciation is a recent development. The mystery continues…
Good Morning Britain airs weekdays from 6am on ITV.
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