Liam Payne once confessed how scared he felt when he met Diddy at a party, I was thinking 'When is this going to end?'

Liam Payne once recounted a peculiar and uncomfortable encounter he had with Diddy, and with recent events, the story has taken on a darker meaning. The former One Direction star, who tragically passed away on Wednesday after falling from a hotel balcony in Buenos Aires, shared details of this meeting in a past interview, which has since resurfaced and sparked renewed interest.

During a 2017 interview with KIIS FM's Kyle and Jackie O, Payne recalled attending a party where he found himself in the company of celebrities like JAY-Z, Leonardo DiCaprio, and Diddy.

Hoping to make a good impression, he decided to introduce himself. After assessing the group, he thought Diddy seemed like the easiest to approach, but his choice led to an unexpectedly awkward moment.

The awkward interaction

While Payne didn't specify the details of when and where the party took place, he revisited the encounter later that year on The Graham Norton Show.

He described how what should have been a simple handshake turned into a bizarre, prolonged exchange. According to Payne, Diddy held his hand much longer than expected and let out what he described as an unsettling laugh, calling it "the longest handshake ever."

"I went over to speak to him and Jay-Z and as I shook his hand he just chuckled," Payne said. "[he had] the most evil laugh I've ever heard. So, I'm a little bit fearful of that man. It was like the most daunting celebrity experience that you could ever imagine. I thought P Diddy was a safe bet. Obviously I missed the mark a little bit."

The odd interaction clearly left Payne feeling uneasy, though at the time, it was more of an amusing anecdote than anything else.

However, in light of recent allegations against Diddy, including charges of sex trafficking and racketeering, the story now feels far more troubling.