By Serena Edwards
Liam Payne, former member of the internationally-known boy band group One Direction, passed away on Wednesday, Oct. 16. He was 31.
Officials say that he passed away after falling from a hotel balcony in Buenos Aires, Argentina, according to AP News. According to Instyle, his cause of death was due to external and internal bleeding. The National Criminal and Correctional Prosecutor’s Office in Argentina stated in a press release that Payne was “going through some kind of outbreak due to substance abuse,” according to AP News. They also stated the conditions of the hotel room he was in; the Mobile Criminalistic Unit of the City Police in Buenos Aires found “narcotics and alcoholic beverages” in his room.
Prior to the incident, the hotel manager called 911, anxiously expressing concern about a guest who was “under the influence of drugs and alcohol and had destroyed some objects in the room,” according to BBC. The prosecutor’s press release also added that they were “determining the involvement of third parties prior to the victim’s death,” according to AP News.
Following the news of the artist’s death, his fellow band members–Harry Styles, Niall Horan, Louis Tomlinson, and Zayn Malik–took to social media to express their feelings.
Styles expressed that he was “truly devastated by Liam’s passing.” He also said that, “Liam lived wide open, with his heart on his sleeve.” Malik said he hopes he’s at peace: “I hope that wherever you are right now you are good and at peace.” Tomlinson announced his devastation to the news of Payne’s death and stated “I am beyond devastated to be writing this but yesterday I lost a brother.” He continued to touch upon Liam’s influence on his life. “Liam is someone I looked up to everyday, such a positive, funny and kind soul.” Horan was the last band member to see Payne a week before his passing. He expressed how grateful he was to see him before his passing. “I didn’t know that after saying goodbye and hugging him that evening, I would be saying goodbye forever.”
One Direction took over the world during the 2010s after gaining notoriety on X Factor, a British singing competition show. Payne, along with his other band members, auditioned as solo artists, but were ultimately placed into a single band by judge Simon Cowell. After the show, the band was offered a recording contract. Cowell expressed his own mourning at Payne’s death on his Instagram.
“I always thought of the 5 of you in the band as brothers. And reading their messages today I believe you were. And now Liam, I can see the effect you had on so many people. Because you left us too soon. Rest in peace my friend,” he wrote.
Payne had struggled with substance abuse in the past. Payne uploaded a video to YouTube last year to give his fans an update on his health. “I became somebody who I didn’t really recognize anymore. And I’m sure you guys didn’t either,” he stated in the video. According to Today, he was six months sober at the time of the video. Payne talked about how he also chose sobriety because of his son Bear. “Obviously, having kids completely changes the mindset around everything you do.” Prior to the birth of his son he struggled with a lot of mental health issues such as anxiety and suicidal thoughts.
Another factor contributing to his addiction was the pressure of being in One Direction. In an interview with Men’s Health Australia in 2019, Payne talked about how fame made him lonely and drinking was a way for him to cope. Though Payne struggled with addiction, he had taken the efforts to change through therapy. In an interview with Today in 2019, he stated that he had been sober for a year, and therapy was a large part of his progress.
Much like other boy bands, One Direction ended up gaining a huge fan base named the “Directioners.” For many in Gen-Z, One Direction became a favorite artist. The Vanguard polled its Instagram followers to express their devastation about the news. One stated, “It’s tragic and I remember how good his songs were.” Another person expressed, “feels like my childhood is officially over and the adult world sucks,” and another user echoed that sentiment: “a piece of my childhood is gone.”
On Oct. 21, information was released about a partial autopsy that had been performed on the late singer, where it was discovered that he had a combination of “pink cocaine”–a mix of MDMA, ketamine, and caffeine–cocaine, and alcohol in his system when he died, according to Vice. A funeral date has not been set as of publication.
This is a developing story. The Vanguard will provide updates as they are made available.