What we really know about his downfall and the ugly online reaction that followed.

Liam Payne, a former member of One Direction, the five-member British boy band that formed in the early 2010s, died Wednesday after falling from the balcony of a hotel room in Buenos Aires, Argentina. Payne, 31, rose to fame when the group appeared on the British reality competition show The X Factor in 2010. Despite not winning that season, One Direction became a major sensation before one member, Zayn Malik, left the group in 2015, which eventually led to the group going on an “indefinite hiatus” in 2016.

A lot has changed since then. Each member has embarked on solo careers (with varying degrees of success), they’ve had very public relationships and breakups, and they’ve dealt with a whole host of personal problems. But the band defined a generation in some ways, and Payne’s death sparked an outpouring of love among the “Directioners,” as fans are known, who reunited in person and online after the news broke.

For those outside of this cohort, it’s been hard to follow the huge reaction to Payne’s death and the complicated aftermath of it – not only are the exact details of what happened still coming to light, but fans are also simultaneously struggling to wrap their minds around Payne’s complexities recent past, which included fan-made rumors and veiled allegations of abuse, and the band’s glory days. Below is a brief explanation of Payne’s life since One Direction’s dissolution and everything that happened this week.

I’m more or less familiar with One Direction, but I don’t know much about it. What role did Liam Payne play in the group?

He wasn’t the oldest of the group, but Payne was considered something of a leader in their dynamic. (His nickname was Daddy Direction, if you know.) Although his relationship with some band members later proved messy, it’s obvious how important he was as an advisor to his bandmates – Harry Styles, Niall Horan, Louis Tomlinson, and Zayn Malik – through their social media statements praising him.

Do we know the exact circumstances of his death?

Apart from the fact that the police confirmed that he died after a fall, this is not the case with us. Before his death, Payne had reunited with his bandmate Niall Horan at the Argentine leg of Horan’s ongoing tour. He had reportedly behaved erratically; A hotel manager said in a 911 call that he had “broken everything in the room” and that he feared Payne “might do something that would put his life in danger.” Payne has been open about his struggles with substance abuse, saying he was in rehab in 2023 and has been sober for nearly six months. Argentine police said they were investigating the possibility that Payne’s fall was an accident or an intentional act.

I’ve heard people say this is a milestone for a generation – would you agree?

Both serious and more comedic online posts with this sentiment have gone viral in recent days. I have to agree. One Direction were incredibly big in their heyday. Zayn’s departure from the group felt like a significant moment in the culture for many people of a certain age, and the group’s decision to go on indefinite hiatus certainly destroyed my entire network of friends, schoolmates, and every girl in it my age in the Internet group.

I didn’t notice what many members did after the group disbanded. Has Liam pursued a solo career like Harry Styles?

He was. In 2017, Payne launched his solo career with his debut single “Strip That Down” featuring rapper Quavo. The track was a mix of pop, R&B and hip-hop, a strong departure from One Direction’s sound. “Strip That Down” was the first of three singles for Payne’s eventual first (and only) full-length solo album. LP1which was published in 2019. Although “Strip That Down” was successful (it became a top 10 single on the Billboard Hot 100) and was followed by several other moderately successful singles, LP1 received negative reviews from critics and achieved only moderate sales, especially when compared to the more successful releases from Horan, Malik and Styles. Payne’s most recent release was the song “Teardrops,” which debuted in March and was his first single in three years.

Besides his solo career, what else did Liam make headlines for after 1D?

Most famously, Liam had a romantic relationship with former Girls Aloud singer Cheryl Tweedy, who is ten years his senior. The two first met when Liam tried it out for the first time The X Factor at 14 years old; Cheryl was a judge and was 25 years old at the time. Liam made it through the first few stages of the show before being axed and told to return in a few years – advice he happened to follow on his second attempt X factor Champion would lead him to One Direction. The couple got back together years later, began dating in 2016 and had a son, Bear, the following year when Liam was 23. They separated in 2018 after two years of dating. Since then, Payne has had a few high-profile relationships, but none as high-profile as his subsequent on-and-off relationship with model and influencer Maya Henry from 2018 to 2022.

Unfortunately, Payne was also known for being the only member of the group most often embroiled in a scandal or controversy, usually consisting of backlash to public statements. There was a time when he insulted Zayn somewhat on Logan Paul’s podcast (which he later retracted), a time when he made confusing comments about Harry’s style, a time when he was accused of misogynistic comments, and more. Payne has also been incredibly open about struggling with the onslaught of fame at a young age, which led to mental health issues and struggles with substance abuse.

What about the people who suggest he was abusive?

This is all very unclear, but shortly before Payne’s death, corners of the internet were full of allegations and rumors surrounding the former 1D member. His aforementioned ex-fiancée Maya Henry published a fictional book in May: I’m looking forward towhich, in her opinion, is “inspired by true events.” The book is about a young girl who meets a former member of a five-piece boy band that she used to idolize. In real life, Henry was eight years older than Payne, and the countless similarities between the timeline of Henry and Payne’s relationship and the book’s plot have convinced fans that the novel is a thinly veiled telling of their true story, which fans disturbed because the book contains some pretty serious depictions of emotional manipulation and abuse, as well as a storyline in which the protagonist’s boy band partner pressures her into having an abortion.

Controversy also increased when Henry recently attempted to solve a long-standing mystery within the 1D fan base. On the same episode of Logan Paul’s podcast, Payne mentioned that he had a physical altercation with an unnamed 1D member who threw him against a wall. Henry said in a TikTok this month that the band member was Zayn. This sparked a wave of directors resurfacing clips of the bandmates interacting, suggesting that Payne didn’t really like any of the band members to begin with. Days before his death, Henry had reportedly filed a cease-and-desist letter claiming Payne had been harassing her since she began speaking out more publicly.

Yikes! I guess people really stick with these guys.

Yes. These allegations and the rumor mill that followed dominated Payne’s last few months. Meanwhile, some fans have taken to blaming and attacking Henry online, while others have taken a more complicated view of his past, his struggles with mental health and addiction, and his sudden death.

How do you assess the online reaction?

There have been many times when a notable figure with a complicated past has died and the internet has descended into a hell of toxicity and dullness. In recent years, Ariana Grande has been blamed for Mac Miller’s death, and some people left no room for Kobe Bryant’s own past in his death. Grief is complicated, but so are people. particularly People who have to deal with gaining immense fame at a young age.

The Internet has never risen to the challenge of having a nuanced conversation about a complex topic. There is only so much judgment we can make about someone through our computer and phone screens. Let’s face it: no boy band story has ever been dark in any way. Although we have reached the point of controlling every online response to claims about Payne’s life, we are not yet past the point of setting better precedents for the future. To my fellow directors, wherever you are: let us mourn and try to be less terrible.