One Direction singer Liam Payne has died at the age of 31.
The musician reportedly fell from his hotel balcony in Buenos Aires, Argentina, on the evening of Wednesday, October 16, according to TMZ (content warning: TMZ included photos from the reported scene in its coverage — Payne’s body is mostly covered in the images). Several witnesses told the publication that he fell from the fourth floor balcony of his room at the CasaSur Palermo Hotel. It is reportedly not known at this time if the fall was accidental or intentional.
Witnesses claim that the fall happened shortly after 5 p.m. in Buenos Aires and that Payne had reportedly displayed erratic behavior in the lobby prior. He was reportedly seen smashing his laptop and being carried back to his room on the fourth floor.
Payne was seen at fellow One Direction member Niall Horan‘s concert in Argentina just two weeks before his death. Payne and his girlfriend, Katie Cassidy, attended the concert at the Movistar Arena in Buenos Aires on October 2. A video of Payne dancing in a box at the concert went viral after fans posted it to social media (see below).
Liam Payne spotted at Niall Horan’s show in Argentina tonight. pic.twitter.com/SC2waeOshL— Pop Crave (@PopCrave) October 3, 2024
Payne informed fans that he and Cassidy would be going to Argentina in a Snapchat video that got reposted on X (formerly known as Twitter). In it, he said they were traveling to Argentina “because we want to” and to reunite with Horan.
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“I think we might just go and say hello,” Payne said in the video. “It’s been a while since me and Niall have spoken. 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 anything like that. But just, um, we need to talk.”
Payne shot to fame in the boy band One Direction, which was famously formed by Simon Cowell on the British version of The X Factor in 2010. Payne was part of the group with Horan, Harry Styles, Louis Tomlinson, and Zayn Malik until the group separated in 2015 and went on a full hiatus in 2016. Malik was the first member to leave the group, with his departure taking place in 2015. Payne was just 16 years old when he joined One Direction and was regarded as one of their main songwriters.
Payne revealed in 2021 that he struggled with alcohol and prescription drug addiction during his One Direction days. In 2023, he spent 100 days in a rehab facility in Louisiana. He detailed his experience with sobriety in an eight-minute YouTube video at the time.
Payne was born and raised in Wolverhampton, West Midlands, England. He shares a 7-year-old son, Bear Grey Payne, with Girls Aloud singer Cheryl Cole, his former girlfriend.
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