By Former member of the English-Irish boyband One Direction Liam Payne has died at the age of 31 on Oct. 16.
Payne died after falling off his third-floor hotel balcony at the Casa Sur Palermo Hotel in Buenos Aires, Argentina. He was pronounced dead on the spot.
Buenos Aires police had received a phone call warning after 5 p.m. local time about an “an aggressive man who could be under the influence of drugs or alcohol.”
It was later reported by Associated Press that he destroyed his hotel room during a 911 call with the hotel’s manager. As of now, it is unclear if the death was accidental or an act of suicide.
The pop singer had flown out to see former bandmate Niall Horan perform in Argentina for Horan’s “The Show” tour on Oct. 2, and stayed an extra two weeks.
A Snapchat video from Payne and his girlfriend Kate Cassidy chatting about breakfast was posted to Payne’s account an hour before the incident.
Confusion spread amongst internet users upon realizing that Cassidy had made a video stating she left Argentina two days prior to his reported death.
His death comes only days after Payne’s ex-fiancée, Maya Henry, appeared on “The Internet is Dead” podcast via a Zoom call to discuss her former relationship with the pop star, detailing incidents like excessive media training and manipulation.
Henry, 23, released a fictional novel called “Looking Forward” in May 2024 about a romantic relationship between Mallory, an aspiring model, and Oliver, a singer in the band 5H, and how Oliver went from a clean-cut persona in public to abusive behind closed doors.
In a 2023 interview with People.com, Henry explained how the abortion that Mallory had to endure for the sake of Oliver not leaving her was similar to her own painful abortion that she dealt with during her time with Payne.
Henry’s reality caused fans to feel conflicted as they had colorfully fond memories of One Direction from childhood and teenage years, yet the news of abuse heavily struck hearts with surprise.
One Direction, composed of Harry Styles, Zayn Malik, Louis Tomlinson, Niall Horan and Liam Payne, was formed through the UK hit show, “The X Factor” in 2010.
The seeds of their success were planted after the release of their first single, “What Makes You Beautiful” in Sept. 2011, which sold over 153k copies in its first week.
The boyband went on to set and break numerous records and amass a massive fanbase before Malik’s departure in March 2015, followed by an indefinite hiatus set in January 2016.
Payne has been vocal about his history with pills and alcohol that began during and after his One Direction days.
His death comes as a heavy shock to both fans and non-fans, as younger students collectively reminisced the nostalgia associated with the band. The news rapidly spread through word of mouth, text message and social media uploads.
Longtime One Direction fan and sophomore biology major Kaya Peyrefitte received the news through a text from her mother, her roommate and her best friend.
“We didn’t have that many boy groups. One Direction was our [modern day] Beatles and we don’t get stuff like that anymore so it was a really big impact on our childhood,” Peyrefitte said.
Paloma Recendez, a freshman pre-child development and family studies major, found out through a social media post.
“I’m not a huge One Direction fan so I was just like, ‘Oh this is pretty sad. I’m sure lots of people will be upset,'” Recendez said. “I didn’t really know the impact of this until I realized that all of my friends care about Liam so much and it hurt me a little bit to see them sad.”
Freshman graphic design major Marlisa Rivera has been a One Direction fan since the age of nine, and mentioned how she was confused about how the death had occurred because he was only 31.
“I was in my art class and the professor was like, ‘I just got a text saying that someone from One Direction died so you guys can go on your phones and look it up,'” Rivera said.
Speculation remains rampant amongst social media. No confirmations have been released from the ongoing investigation.
Contact the National Mental Health Hotline at (866) 903-3787 for free and confidential assistance in times of distress.
