Surviving One Direction members issue message of love to the late Liam Payne
1D member Louis Tomlinson also wrote a longer personal statement, calling Payne "the kind brother I’d longed all my life for."
Photo: The members of One Direction (including Liam Payne, far right) in 2014. (Credit: Juan Naharro Gimenez/Getty Images)
Liam Payne died yesterday, at the age of 31. Today, Payne’s former bandmates in massively successful boy band One Direction issued a joint statement about his death, writing that they were “completely devastated by the news of Liam’s passing.” Signed by all four former members—Zayn Malik, Louis Tomlinson, Harry Styles, and Niall Horan—the statement goes on to say that, “In time, and when everyone is able to, there will be more to say. But for now, we will take some time to grieve and process the loss of our brother, who we loved dearly. The memories we shared with him will be treasured forever. For now, our thoughts are with his family, his friends, and the fans who loved him alongside us. We will miss him terribly. We love you Liam.”
In addition to the joint statement, Tomlinson also published a much longer, and more effusive, statement about Payne on his own social media. Calling him “the kind brother I’d longed all my life for,” Tomlinson praised Payne’s musical abilities, adding, “Liam was in my opinion the most vital part of One Direction.” Reminiscing about long conversations the pair had after the band went on permanent hiatus in 2016, Tomlinson wrote “I would have loved to share the stage with you again but it wasn’t to be,” before finishing with “Payno, my boy, one of my best friends, my brother, I love you mate. Sleep well.”
Payne died on Wednesday after falling from the balcony of a hotel in Argentina. Tributes and messages of condolence for him—including from the producers of British reality series The X Factor, where One Direction’s members were first brought together to perform—have continued to pour out since news of his death broke yesterday evening.
Update: Styles and Malik have now also posted their own individual statements. Styles wrote on his Instagram that, “The years we spent together will forever remain among the most cherished years of my life. I will miss him always, my lovely friend.” Malik remembered his former bandmate as someone who was “headstrong, opinionated, and gave no fucks about telling people when they were wrong,” adding that “I always secretly respected you for it.” He also highlighted Payne’s skills as a musician, writing, “When you came to the music Liam, you were the most qualified in every sense.”