Photo: PG/Bauer-Griffin/GC Images
News of singer Liam Payne’s death broke suddenly on Wednesday, October 16. The former One Direction singer fell from his third-story hotel-room balcony in Argentina, and details of the event are still emerging as though who knew him pay tribute.
Payne’s sister, Ruth Gibbins, said she didn’t “feel the world was good enough or kind enough to you” in a lengthy new Instagram tribute. Payne’s ex-girlfriend Cheryl Cole, with whom he shared son Bear, criticized “abhorrent reports and media exploitation” of his death, considering their son might one day read them. “Please give Liam the little dignity he has left in the wake of his death to rest in some peace at last,” she wrote. Shortly before, Payne’s girlfriend, Kate Cassidy, who traveled to Argentina with him before his death, said she has “been at a complete loss” in an Instagram Story on October 18. “Liam, my angel. You are everything,” she wrote. “I want you to know I loved you unconditionally and completely. I will continued to love you for the rest of my life. I love you Liam.”
Simon Cowell, who judged One Direction on The X Factor and later signed the band to his label, Syco, said he is “truly devastated” by Payne’s death” in an Instagram post, adding that he feels “empty.” “You never really know how you feel about someone until a moment like this happens,” Cowell wrote on October 18. Cowell also remembered seeing Payne last year, when they “reminisced about all of the fun times we had together.” Cowell added that Payne was “kind, funny, sweet, thoughtful, talented, humble, focused.” Payne’s current label, Republic Records, also honored him in a statement on October 17, calling him “an extraordinary artist whose music touched millions” on X. “His legacy will live on through the timeless work he created, and he will forever be remembered as an icon of his generation,” Republic said.
Payne’s One Direction bandmates all individually paid tribute to him, while the band also released a joint statement mourning the loss of their “brother.” Payne’s family said they are “heartbroken” over his death, commemorating “his kind, funny, and brave soul” in a statement shared the following day. Payne is survived by his mother, father, and two sisters, along with his son, Bear.
5 Seconds of Summer, a fellow boy band from the same era, released a statement, remembering Payne, “You truly believed in us and for that we are forever grateful.
Zedd, who made “Get Low” with Payne in 2017, wrote that the news is “absolutely heartbreaking.” His fellow X Factor contestants Jedward extended their sympathy to his former partner, Cheryl, and the couple’s son, Bear. And E.L. James, whose Fifty Shades Freed film adaptation featured a song from Payne and Rita Ora, said she could “barely believe it.” Below, tributes to Liam Payne from across the industry.
“We are heartbroken. Liam will forever live in our hearts and we’ll remember him for his kind, funny, and brave soul,” Payne’s family told the Sun in a statement. “We are supporting each other the best we can as a family and ask for privacy and space during this awful time.”
Payne’s sister, Ruth Gibbins, later shared a lengthy individual tribute in an October 19 Instagram statement:
Payne’s girlfriend posted a tribute to her Instagram Story on October 18:
Thank you for all of the kind words and love that has been sent my way.
I have been at a complete loss. Nothing about the past few days have felt real.
I ask and pray that you’ll give me the grace and space to navigate this in private.
Liam, my angel. You are everything. I want you to know I loved you unconditionally and completely. I will continue to love you for the rest of my life. I love you Liam.
From Halsey’s blog: “i loved one direction with an all-consuming force when i was younger. it hurts deeply to mourn someone you were a massive fan of as teenager, and became a peer of as an adult.
i know people change and grief is unsure or complicated when it’s attached to a fond memory or the feeling a person gave you and not tangibly the person themself. i can see many of you on here are struggling with that right now and i understand.
a few years ago i purchased a home that Liam previously owned. there were rumors the house was haunted. He assured me it was not, and i believed him. because i know the ghosts that haunt us aren’t tethered to buildings. They live in parts of us that are harder to reach and they go wherever we do.
as a parent, a fellow artist, and a fan, i simply cannot fathom this untimely loss. my heart goes out to his family, friends, and the fans.”
