While appearing on Thursday's all-new episode of the High Performance podcast with Jake Humphrey and Damian Hughes, George said he regrets some of the "not very nice" things he said about the late popstar in the days leading up to Payne's death.
"In the case of Liam Payne, I watched him a few days before it happened ... I remember watching online, and I'd actually put a message under a post saying, 'He's off his nut,' which wasn't very nice but I felt it. I felt like he was out of control," George said of the comments he left under the One Direction singer's post.
"And when it happened, it just hit me," he continued, referring to Payne's death at 31 after falling from a hotel balcony in Buenos Aires on October 16. "The same way that Amy Winehouse hit me. Because it felt so senseless."
The Culture Club frontman said, "I was up at 5 in the morning and it came up on the American news and I was literally like, 'What the f--k?' I was literally like, 'No, this isn't real.' I couldn't take it in. I think everybody felt like that."
George said that watching news coverage of Payne's dad, Geoff, in Argentina in the aftermath of his death was also emotional.
The grieving father traveled to Buenos Aires last month to support Argentine police in their investigation into the singer's death and to repatriate Payne's body back to his native U.K.
"Somebody tweeted to me: 'You only care because he's good-looking.' I think, 'F--l off. You're an idiot,'" the "Do You Really Want to Hurt Me" singer said. "I care about his family ... I watched the dad. Heartbreaking. I was quite tearful about it. I really felt very sad."
Payne was laid to rest in a private funeral ceremony in Amersham, England, on Wednesday, with his former One Direction bandmates, Harry Styles, Niall Horan, Zayn Malik and Louis Tomlinson, in attendance. The somber moment marked the first time the four surviving band members have been together since Malik left the group in 2015.
Payne's girlfriend, Kate Cassidy, was also spotted at the funeral, as well as his ex, Cheryl Cole, with whom Payne shared a 7-year-old son, Bear.
Simon Cowell, James Corden and Cole's Girls Aloud bandmates Kimberley Walsh and Nicola Roberts were also in attendance.
Earlier this month, TMZ reported that Buenos Aires prosecutors charged three people in connection with Payne's death: Brian Nahuel Paiz and two other individuals, who were charged with abandonment leading to death and the supply and facilitation of narcotics.
For more from Payne's funeral, check out the gallery bellow.