His death sparked an avalanche of reactions from fans and celebrities, particularly in the United Kingdom, his country of origin. “I’m completely lost. Nothing about the last few days has felt real to me,” his girlfriend, Kate Cassidy, wrote in a post on Instagram on Friday. “Liam, my angel, you are everything. (I will continue to love you for the rest of my life,” she added.
Liam’s death is a “shattering event” reacted his ex-partner, the singer of the group Girls Aloud, Cheryl Cole, with whom the singer had a child, now aged seven, who will have to “face the reality of never seeing your father again.” She also denounced the “odious articles and media exploitation” after the death of her ex-spouse, calling for respect for his “dignity so that he rests in peace, finally”, in this message posted on Instagram accompanied by a photo of Liam Payne lying on a bed with his baby son.
Liam Payne fans continue to pay tribute to him at the foot of the hotel where the singer died.
JUAN MABROMATA / AFP
Early Friday, Liam Payne’s father, Geoff, arrived in Buenos Aires, a police source said. In the Palermo district, in front of the hotel where Payne was staying, flowers, candles, photos and hand-scribbled messages continued to pile up Friday on the sidewalk around a tree transformed into a mini-mausoleum.
The day before, the members of One Direction, with whom Liam Payne had enjoyed early fame thanks to the talent show “The X Factor” in the early 2010s, said they were “completely devastated”.
“Shock, sadness and confusion”
One of the members of the group, Niall Horan, who had not yet reacted individually, said he was “totally devastated” by the death of his “incredible friend”. According to Billboard magazine, Liam Payne attended a Niall Horan concert on October 2 in Buenos Aires. “I feel so lucky to have seen him recently. Unfortunately, I didn’t know after we said goodbye and I kissed him that night that it would be goodbye,” he added.
Other singers who experienced young success also paid tribute to the singer from Wolverhampton (central England). Ed Sheeran claimed he was “lost for words” on Instagram, in a message accompanying a black and white photo of Liam Payne smiling.
“Shock, sadness and confusion,” reacted Robbie Williams, former member of the boy band Take That in the 1990s. He shared the stage in 2010 with One Direction during the show “The X Factor”. “Liam’s trials and tribulations were very similar to mine,” he insisted, who had also admitted to having struggled with alcohol and drugs.
