'Social chameleon' Liam Payne makes Birmingham faux pas as he defends Oscars accent

The Wulfrunian and former One Direction star raised eyebrows as he was filmed on Good Morning Britain after Will Smith slapped Chris Rock.

His voice attracted a string of jokes across social media – with one person questioning what the "hell has happened" to his accent, which one said sounded Dutch.

But now the popstar has jokingly defended his "ever-changing" accent on social media, before mistakenly telling his followers he had a "Birmingham accent".

Liam said: "The ever-changing accent. I'm good at accents, I pride myself on them. I just wish sometimes I could do my own. What can I say about that, really? It was quite funny. I had asked GMB, the presenter, I said 'please don't ask me too much because I've had a lot of drink and I'm unduly educated about the Oscars.

"And the very first question the man asked me was 'what do you think about Will Smith?' – imagine being put on the spot at that moment and knowing I can't say anything wrong because I'm going to upset someone, and I just did the best I could.

"I mean I actually read back what I said and I stand by what I said, but I'm just sorry it came out in so many accents – I'm not even sure it was an accent I can do.

"But I'm one of those people – if you want to see proof of this, go back and watch my audition right, I didn't know that the Birmingham accent was going to become really cool because of Peaky Blinders, but I don't sound like I'm from Birmingham really, but when my mum's here you bl**dy bet I do."

The singer hails from Wolverhampton and has previously donated to The Way Youth Zone – and has visited the Penn Tandoori on Penn Road. But now he spends the bulk of his time in Hollywood with his fiancee, model Maya Henry.

"I will tell you the truth – I was staying in a house with two German people, three people from Texas, one person from Liverpool and me. It sounds like of those jokes people say, when an Irishman and an Englishman walk into a pub, and that's what came out, so what can you say? But it was very funny, wasn't it," the former X Factor contestant said.

"You know when I was around the boys, one of my boys is from Leeds, roughly the same sort of area that Louis [Tomlinson] comes from. When I'm around Louis, it's 'y'alright kid' – it comes out different, I dunno, I'm a social chameleon – I'm ever-changing.

"Don't have many drinks and address the country. I think that would be the only line I could say really."