Liam Payne’s family issued a statement Sunday morning, criticising the media coverage of the singer’s death, saying it had caused them “indescribable, lasting damage.”
Hours after the former One Direction star was honored at the annual music Brit Awards in London, the BBC reports Payne’s family issued a statement slamming the “attention and speculation” into the circumstances of the singer’s death in Argentina, in October 2024.
See full statement below.
Payne was remembered at the music awards ceremony with a moving photograph and video montage of him as a child with his family, through his teenage years and onto his success with One Direction after the five members were put together on the UK reality TV show The X Factor in 2011.
Rumours that the remaining members of the group would reunite on state to remember Payne proved unfounded, but Payne’s bandmate Louis Tomlinson afterwards thanked the Brit Awards on social media for honoring his friend.
Payne died aged 31 after falling from a balcony at the CasaSur Palermo Hotel in Buenos Aires, the capital of Argentina. Police authorities have dropped manslaughter charges against one of his friends, Rogelio Nores, but two other men continue to face charges of supplying drugs to the singer on the evening of his death.
Complete statement from Liam Payne’s family:
“Liam’s death was an unspeakable tragedy. This is a time of tremendous grief and pain for those who knew and loved him. Liam ought to have had a long life ahead of him. Instead, Bear has lost his father, Geoff and Karen have lost their son, Ruth and Nicola have lost their brother and all of Liam’s friends and fans have lost someone they held very dear.
“We understand that the investigation into Liam’s death was absolutely necessary, and the family recognises the work done by the Argentinian authorities. However, the family accepts the Court of Appeal’s decision to drop all charges.
“The constant media attention and speculation which has accompanied the process has exacted indescribable, lasting damage on the family, particularly on Liam’s son who is trying to process emotions which no seven-year-old should have to experience.
“The family has always wished for privacy to grieve and asks that they be given the space and time to do so.
“This weekend, at the Brit Awards, Liam was remembered for his phenomenal contribution to British music and for his wider, positive impact on millions of adoring fans the world over. We joined in that celebration of his life and will forever remember the joy that his music brought to the world.
“Liam, you are so loved and missed.”
