One Direction’s Louis Tomlinson May Have Installed A Panic Room In His Home Because Of Rabid Fans

In May 1999, Rolling Stone was profiling the Backstreet Boys — the Orlando boy band was readying its sophomore effort Millennium — when Nick Carter, then 19, posed a question of his own: “Is there any way that you might be able to not name the actual place that I live?”

The youngest Backstreet Boy had already moved once before, due to the sort of fandom that One Direction‘s Louis Tomlinson is experiencing right now. As revealed today, Tomlinson has reportedly spent £15,000 ($22,555.50 USD) to install a panic room inside his U.K. home, because fans were sending death threats via Twitter to his girlfriend Eleanor Calder.

While panic rooms are typically installed to protect possessions during weather-related catastrophes, Tomlinson wanted a panic room for his own personal safety,  according to an unnamed source close to One Direction. “Louis loves the fans and isn’t overwhelmed with paranoia. He’s just a realist about the dangers of being in the spotlight,” the source said to The Sun. “One Direction followers are notorious for tracking the lads down, so that’s made him a bit cautious.”

Tomlinson isn’t the only One Direction member to address the rabid fandom. The Sun also reports that Zayn Malik has a panic room installed in his North London home, while Niall Horan prefers not to worry. “It’s only brave girls behind a computer, thinking they can say what they want,” Horan said to The Sun. “Other celebrities get freaked out about death threats. I’m carefree about it.”

As NME‘s “Villain of the Year” Harry Styles once said, “Gotta take the rough with the smooth, eh?” Any other advice, Nick Carter?

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