Robbie Williams has paid tribute to Liam Payne, who has died at the age of 31, describing the late singer as a ‘handsome, talented boy’ as he shared what appears to be one of their final email correspondences
Liam Payne’s first audition on X Factor
Robbie Williams has paid tribute to Liam Payne, describing the late singer as a “handsome, talented boy” as he shared what appears to be one of their final email correspondences.
The Angels hitmaker, 50, told fans how he was in a state of “shock, sadness and confusion” as he broke his silence on Liam’s untimely death at the age of 31. He recalled how Liam’s “trials and tribulations were very similar” to his own as he reflected on the late singer’s life.
Musicians and famous faces have been remembering Liam after police in Argentina said he died falling from the third-floor balcony of a hotel in Buenos Aires on Wednesday. Liam rose to fame as part of One Direction, who went on to become a global sensation after they finished third on The X Factor in 2010.
Former Take That member Robbie, who also first rose to fame in a boyband, took to social media on Friday morning to share some thoughts on Liam’s passing and his own struggles with addiction over the years. The dad-of-four shared a drawing of an email exchange seemingly between himself and Liam as he paid tribute on Instagram.
“How to make sense of the Liam Payne tragedy?” Robbie began in the lengthy caption. “Obviously, my first feelings towards his passing were like everyone else. Shock, sadness and confusion. And to be honest as I write these words that’s where I still am.”
He continued: “I met the boys on The X Factor and ‘’mentored’’ them. I use the word mentored in inverted brackets cos I hardly did anything to be honest. I just hung out with them. They were all cheeky and lovely. I enjoyed the light hearted piss takery and Thought about all the times I was that cheeky pisstaker with the Popstars that had gone before me when I was in Take That. Our paths have crossed ever since that day and I’m fond of them all. Liam’s trials and tribulations were very similar to mine, so it made sense to reach out and offer what I could. So I did.”
Robbie then urged his followers to be kind, writing: “I guess in these moments it’s worth repeating – WE DON’T KNOW WHATS GOING ON IN PEOPLE’S LIVES. WHAT PAIN THEY’RE GOING THROUGH AND WHAT MAKES THEM BEHAVE IN THE WAY THAT THEY BEHAVE. BEFORE WE REACH TO JUDGEMENT, A BIT OF SLACK NEEDS TO BE GIVEN.
“BEFORE YOU TYPE ANYTHING ON THE INTERNET, HAVE A THINK ‘’DO I REALLY NEED TO PUBLISH THIS?’’, BECAUSE THAT’S WHAT YOU’RE DOING. YOU’RE PUBLISHING YOUR THOUGHTS FOR ANYBODY TO READ. EVEN IF YOU DON’T REALLY THINK THAT CELEBRITIES OR THEIR FAMILIES EXIST. THEY F***ING DO. SKIN AND BONE AND IMMENSELY SENSITIVE.”
The Rock DJ singer then moved on to discuss his past battles with substance and alcohol abuse. Robbie, who has been sober for over 20 years, told his followers: “I still had my demons at 31. I relapsed. I was in pain. I was in pain because I relapsed. I relapsed because of a multitude of painful reasons. I remember Heath Ledger passing and thinking ‘’I’m next’’. By the grace of god and/or dumb luck I’m still here.
“The internet will unfortunately carry on being the internet. The media will unfortunately carry on being the media and fame will carry on being fame. As individuals though we have the power to change ourselves. We can be kinder. We can be more empathic. We can at least try to be more compassionate towards ourselves, our family, our friends, strangers in life and strangers on the internet.”
Robbie concluded his tribute to Liam with: “Even famous strangers need your compassion. What a Handsome Talented boy. What a tragic painful loss for his friends, family, fans and by the looks of the energy this moment has created – The World. Be Kind.”
After Liam’s death on Wednesday, five witnesses were questioned in order to reconstruct what happened, the prosecutor’s office said. Reports said staff at the hotel made two calls to emergency services with audio revealing a staff member had asked for assistance for a guest who was “intoxicated by drugs and alcohol”.
Police in the capital said the music star’s hotel room had been “in complete disarray” with “various items broken” – adding that a whiskey bottle, lighter and mobile phone had been retrieved from the internal hotel courtyard where Liam’s body was found. One Direction fans mourned his death at a vigil outside the Argentine hotel where they lit candles and laid flowers.
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