[imagesource:instagram/liampayne]

Former One Direction member Liam Payne died at the age of 31, after falling from the third floor of a hotel in Buenos Aires, Argentina in front of witnesses.

Payne was found dead in the hotel courtyard on Wednesday night. Local authorities revealed that the hotel is located on Costa Rica Street in Buenos Aires’s Palermo neighbourhood.

Payne was part of the original line-up of the world-famous boy band, formed in 2010, alongside Zayn Malik, Louis Tomlinson, Niall Horan and Harry Styles. The pop star’s friends and millions of fans are already paying tribute to him.

He is survived by a son, Bear, born from his relationship with Girls Aloud singer, Cheryl Tweedy in 2017.

Earlier in the month, he had reportedly shared a Snapchat saying he was travelling to Argentina in part to see his former bandmate Niall Horan play a show there.

“It’s been a while since me and Niall have spoken,” he said. “We’ve got a lot to talk about and I would like to square up a couple of things with the boy. No bad vibes or nothing like that but we just need to talk.”

While officials try to piece the exact circumstances surrounding Payne’s death together in the investigation, the hotel manager told police that there was “a guest who is overwhelmed with drugs and alcohol”.

“He’s destroying the entire room and, well, we need you to send someone, please,” the manager said, according to call audio obtained by the Associated Press.

His sudden death came just hours after he posed for a picture with his Texan model girlfriend Kate Cassidy on Snapchat. Many pointed to the fact the 31-year-old’s behaviour seemed entirely normal, in contrast with a statement from police that said they had gone to the hotel after being notified of an “aggressive man who could be under the effects of drugs and alcohol”.

However, the videos appear to have been posted days after they were filmed, as they feature Cassidy, who uploaded videos of her return to Florida on social media earlier in the week.

Apparently, Payne was found to have suffered “extremely serious injuries” after falling and medics pronounced him dead on the spot. The authorities will perform an autopsy to pinpoint the exact cause of death.

Right now, there is no clear indication that foul play was at hand.

Liam was dealing with some relationship difficulties, in a legal battle with his ex-girlfriend, Maya Henry, when he died on Wednesday night. The couple had called things off in 2022.

Henry, 23, had issued a cease and desist notice to Payne earlier this week, accusing him of repeatedly contacting her and her loved ones, The Daily Mail reported.

“‘Maya Henry issued a cease and desist last week to Liam Payne following the emergence of new and concerning information,” her lawyers told the Mail. “She has retained attorneys Marco Crawford and Daniel Cerna to represent her. At this time, that is her only comment on the matter.”

Henry spoke out about her concerns in a TikTok video earlier this month.

“Ever since we broke up he messages me, will blow up my phone, not only from his phone, it’s always from different phone numbers too, so I never know where it’s gonna come from,” Henry said in the video.

The 23-year-old also published the novel Looking Forward in May, which she said was “inspired by true events”, containing a content warning for abortion, abuse, violence, self-harm, substance abuse and eating disorders, People reports.

A music producer who worked with Liam Payne on Get Low in 2017 has paid tribute to Payne, making it sound like he was really in the rough:

Life is short and fragile…
You never know what people are going through.
We live in times where being rude, divisive and mean is normal; sometimes even celebrated. It doesn’t have to be this way.
We should do our best to be kind, supportive and mindful.

— Zedd (@Zedd) October 16, 2024

SkyNews notes that Liam Payne’s struggles with fame and his mental health were no secret. He provided a thoughtful and sad reflection on his life in the public eye on the Sky show Ant Middleton And Liam Payne: Straight Talking in 2019. He mentioned that his personal life became complicated at times and he spoke openly about his struggles with alcoholism and mental health. He was also diagnosed with ADHD as an adult.

The former One Direction star said: “For some circumstances, I’m quite lucky to be here still.”

He said it was difficult to talk about as “I still haven’t made my peace with it”.

“There’s times when that level of loneliness and people getting into you every day… every so often you’re like, when will this end?

“That’s almost killed me a couple of times.”

He said “really great people around you and finding a different way of looking at it” helped him get through it.

Mikey Graham, best known as a member of Boyzone, described Liam Payne’s death as “tragic” and spoke of the “damaging” nature of fame, calling for record companies to look after artists better.

 

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RIP, Payne.

[sources:skynews&independent]