Death of Liam Payne

On 16 October 2024, English singer-songwriter and One Direction member Liam Payne died after falling off a third-floor balcony at the CasaSur hotel in Palermo, Buenos Aires. His death was announced on TN by Alberto Crescenti, the director of Buenos Aires's public emergency medical service. Police and an autopsy found drugs in both his hotel room and his system. Tributes were paid by Payne's family, One Direction bandmates Niall Horan, Zayn Malik, Harry Styles, and Louis Tomlinson, and former partner Cheryl, as well as The X Factor judges Simon Cowell and Robbie Williams, the association football clubs Wolverhampton Wanderers F.C. and West Bromwich Albion F.C., the UK prime minister Keir Starmer, and multiple music industry figures.
Filming for was suspended for a day, with Cowell taking an extra day off. TMZ, , ABC News, and Hulu were criticised by One Direction fans for their behaviour immediately after Payne's death. A fan set up a petition calling for better support for those in the music industry, which had 60,000 signatures in its first five days. In addition, twelve of his works reentered Official Charts Company charts.
Background
Liam James Payne (born 29 August 1993) first achieved fame via The X Factor, which he auditioned for in 2008 and 2010. On his second attempt, judge Simon Cowell hired Payne for the manufactured boyband One Direction alongside Niall Horan, Zayn Malik, Harry Styles and Louis Tomlinson. As a fifth of that band, he topped the UK singles chart with "What Makes You Beautiful", "Little Things", "", and "Drag Me Down" and the UK Albums Chart with Take Me Home (2012), Midnight Memories (2013), Four (2014), and Made in the A.M. (2015). After the band went on indefinite hiatus in 2016, he began his solo career, during which he released the UK top-20 album LP1 (2019) and the top ten singles "Strip That Down" with Quavo, and "For You" with Rita Ora. In 2024, he released his first single in three years, "Teardrops", and filmed scenes for the Netflix show Building the Band.
Death
On 16 October 2024, Payne died after falling from a third-floor balcony at the CasaSur hotel in the Palermo neighbourhood of Buenos Aires, Argentina, at the age of 31. Police went to the hotel following an emergency call from the hotel manager, who reported "an aggressive man who could be under the effects of drugs and alcohol". The manager indicated in the call that "when he is conscious he is destroying the entire room and we need you to send someone", noting that the man's life was at risk due to the room having a balcony. Payne fell from the balcony shortly after emergency services arrived. His death was confirmed at 5:11 p.m. Argentina Time (UTC−03:00). The emergency medical team that arrived at the hotel reported a "cranial fracture and extremely serious injuries" that led to Payne's immediate death.
Alberto Crescenti, director of Buenos Aires' public emergency medical service, announced Payne's death on the Argentine news channel TN, stating that the fall was from a height of approximately and that Payne sustained "very serious injuries incompatible with life", leaving "no possibility of resuscitation". Pablo Policicchio, communications director for the Buenos Aires Security Ministry, stated that Payne "had jumped from the balcony of his room". The office did not respond to follow-up questions regarding the claim and directed the reporters to the prosecutor's office. The forensic experts later reported that Payne "did not adopt a reflexive posture to protect himself" and that he "could have fallen in a state of semi or total unconsciousness".
Investigation
Authorities opened an investigation into Payne's death and conducted a post-mortem. Initial post-mortem examination indicated that Payne died from internal and external haemorrhages and multiple traumatic injuries. The forensic experts reported 25 injuries caused by the fall and stated that Payne's traumatic brain injuries were "enough to cause death", with the bleeding in his head and upper body also contributing to his death. The examination found no signs of a fight and noted that Payne was alone in the room at the time of his death. The media initially reported that Payne had "multiple substances" in his system when he died, including pink cocaine, crack cocaine, and benzodiazepine. However on 22 October, Argentina's public prosecutor's office clarified that the toxicology report was not yet complete and denied that any details had been disclosed.
On the night of 23 October, a week after Payne's fall, Buenos Aires police raided the Casa Sur Hotel, seeking documents and other information. A government official revealed police had seized items such as computers. Authorities requested the hotel hand over camera footage.
Aftermath
Reactions
Payne's family released a statement shortly after his death, stating that they were heartbroken and that Payne would live forever in their hearts, and asking for privacy as they supported each other. Payne's father Geoff and One Direction's former head of security Paul Higgins arrived in Buenos Aires on 18 October. His former partner Cheryl issued a public request for consideration and dignity, fearing their son could potentially access "the abhorrent reports and media exploitation" around his father's death later in life. Payne's One Direction bandmates Horan, Malik, Styles, and Tomlinson released a joint statement asking for time to speak more on his death and that they were grieving and processing it, with individual statements of respect coming from Tomlinson, Malik, Styles, Horan, and Styles' mother. Malik later announced he would be postponing the US leg of his Stairway to the Sky Tour following news of Payne's death.
Musicians across the world paid tribute to Payne. A number of public figures, including Sharon Osbourne, Rebecca Ferguson and Bruce Springsteen, raised concerns about the music industry, media, and adolescent fame in their commemorations. One Direction's X Factor mentor Robbie Williams, relating Payne's struggles to his own, made a plea for compassion, saying, "We don't know what's going on in people's lives". Filming of auditions for series 18 of Britain's Got Talent, a show produced by Cowell, was suspended out of respect; production resumed that weekend, with Cowell absent for some episodes. Cowell himself paid tribute two days after Payne's death. UK prime minister Sir Keir Starmer released a statement mourning Payne and mentioning One Direction's "huge impact on many millions of fans around the world". Wolverhampton councillor Simon Bennett said Payne should posthumously receive the Freedom of the City honour. Wolverhampton Wanderers F.C. and West Bromwich Albion paid tributes to Payne.
On 18 October, a fan started a petition calling for "Liam's Law" to protect artists' mental health, which would enforce access to mental health professionals, regular mental health checks, and adequate rest periods. Within five days, their petition had been signed by over 68,000 people. In addition, Payne's death sparked a number of conspiracy theories. On 25 October, all five One Direction albums and his own album LP1 reentered the UK Albums Chart and the One Direction songs "Night Changes", "Story of My Life", and "What Makes You Beautiful" and Payne songs "Strip That Down", "Get Low", and "Teardrops" entered the UK singles chart, with "Night Changes" and "Teardrops" achieving new peaks.
Media coverage
American tabloid website TMZ obtained photographs of Payne's corpse and published cropped images that showed his arm and waist. Their decision to publish the photos was criticised by a number of fans and public figures, prompting the outlet to remove the images. Similarly, faced backlash for allowing images purporting to be of Payne's trashed hotel room to be published on Payne's page in the hours following his death. In addition, a user's edit on One Direction's article, which moved Payne's name from the "Members" section of the infobox to the "Past members" section, was met with an emotional response from fans.
ABC News and Hulu produced an episode of Impact X Nightline about Payne's "final days" featuring contributions from X Factor contestant Mary Byrne and numerous ABC journalists before Payne's body had been buried, prompting criticism from a reviewer at The A.V. Club. Former BBC newsreader Michael Buerk accused the corporation of excessive coverage of the death, and was criticised for referring to Payne as a "drugged up, faded, boy band singer".
Memorials
Shortly after his death, fans of the singer and One Direction gathered outside the hotel in Buenos Aires before breaking into applause as the van carrying Payne's body was driven away. The group then lit candles and wept before dispersing. Payne's father Geoff visited the memorial upon arriving in Buenos Aires. Fans also gathered to light candles in Mexico City on 17 October and a service was held in Copenhagen. Written notes were left at London's Hard Rock Cafe where the telephone box featured on the cover art of Take Me Home is on display.
At Clevedon Pier, where One Direction filmed the music video for "You & I", fans came to lay flowers at the One Direction plaque, which was installed to commemorate the filming of the music video. The pier's management also issued a statement of condolence. A vigil was held at the Lady Wulfrun statue at St Peter's Collegiate Church on 18 October. A fan memorial with an estimated attendance of up to 1,000 took place at Hyde Park on 20 October, as well as in other UK cities over the weekend. Further memorials were held in cities across the world, including in New York's Washington Square Park.

Main Menu

See Also

Main Menu