Louis Tomlinson has addressed the long-running conspiracy that he and former One Direction bandmate Harry Styles were in a secret romantic relationship.
From pretty much day one of One Direction being formed on The X Factor, a section of the fandom has insisted Louis, 32, and Harry, 30, were secretly together.
And 14 years later – eight years after 1D went on an indefinite hiatus – the conspiracy theories are as abundant as ever.
Fans point to old videos of the pair through the years as ‘evidence’ they were in love, with many claiming the band’s ‘management’ stopped them from going public, but that their bandmates Zayn Malik, Liam Payne and Niall Horan were secretly supporting them.
Louis has previously hit out at the baseless claims, most recently calling it a ‘childish conspiracy theory’.
But he’s recently said that he has given up denying the theories as there’s ‘nothing I can say or do’ to make people stop believing in them.
In a new interview with Brazillian outlet G1, he was asked why the conspiracy is so famous and long-lasting, and he admitted it’s ‘tough’.
‘I’ve realised this some years ago, that there’s nothing I can say or do to dispel the rumours of that conspiracy,’ he said.
‘They are so intertwined with what they believe to be the truth now that they won’t actually see the truth for what it is. It does irritate me a little bit but it’s’ just kind of the nature of the job I suppose.’
He admitted however that ‘at times it gets far too personal.’
Louis pointed to his eight-year-old son Freddie, ‘the most important person in my life,’ and said conspiracy theories can ‘broach some stuff that is really unfair’.
While Louis didn’t make any reference to specific conspiracy theories here, when Louis’ ex-partner Briana Jungwirth gave birth to their son in 2016, bizarre theories were pushed with some fans insisting the baby wasn’t real – and even insisting a photo of Louis with the newborn was doctored.
‘This thing that exists, there’s nothing I can do about it, nothing I can say about it,’ Louis went on.
‘It’s people making up what they want to make up. So be it.’
His words are a lot calmer than his sarcastic reply to a fan on X last year, who made an obscure reference to the ‘Larry Stylinson’ theories: asking him how to make chicken parmesan, which some fans believe is what the duo ate on their first date.
He wrote, in answer to how to make chicken parmesan: ‘You start by realising all these ridiculous childish theories and conspiracies are wasted time and energy and then just throw the chicken in the oven to be fair.’
Louis added: ‘Simple stuff.’
It’s far from the first time Louis has addressed the theories, previously telling The Sun the baseless theories ‘felt a little bit disrespectful’ to his then-girlfriend Eleanor Calder.
He said the rumours even put a distance between himself and Harry, saying it ‘created this atmosphere between the two of us where everyone was looking into everything we did.’
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