Pictures of the hotel room in which Liam Payne spent his final hours have reportedly surfaced, with a smashed TV and white powder on tables.
The former One Direction star was pronounced dead aged 31 after falling from a hotel in Buenos Aires, Argentina, triggering an outpouring of grief globally.
He was staying at the Hotel Casa Sur when he fell from the balcony after the hotel staff had called the police, claiming a guest had become out of control and was ‘trashing the entire room’.
Fans – many of whom have been worried for Payne’s well-being in recent weeks after claims he was behaving ‘erratically’ – have been heartbroken to learn that Payne was evidently in the midst of a dark period at the time of his death.
Photos purporting to have been taken inside the room have since been revealed showing the extent of the ‘trashing’.
One image shows a cracked TV screen on a shelf, with a half-drunk glass of what appears to be wine next to it.
Also shown was a table, covered in foil, scorch marks, and white powder which police have said are being tested for narcotics.
Many celebrities have now spoken out about the dangers of fame and the necessity for change in the music industry to protect artists who find fame at a young age.
Kaite Waissel,, a 38-year-old singer-songwriter who auditioned alongside Payne on the X Factor in 2010, has been among this chorus of voices.
She wrote on X: ‘I’m calling for an immediate investigation into SyCo Entertainment for negligence and breach of duty of care. Artists are not commodities, and their wellbeing must be prioritised.
‘We need new laws to protect the safety and mental health of all in the industry. NO MORE PROFIT OVER PEOPLE. Let Liam’s story spark the reform we desperately need.’
Hours after his death, Argentinian outlets posted the images with publications including La Nacion and Clarin confirming the photos.
Another image showed more foil and a broken Dove soap bar in the bathroom. Police have asked fans not to speculate on the content of the images.
Local police are reportedly planning to investigate who supplied the History hitmaker with the substances, assuming tests are positive.
Payne had previously spoken about how proud he was to be ‘100 days sober’ after spending time in a wellness facility in 2023.
He posted an eight-minute video on YouTube in which he revealed that he was nearly six months sober after spending 100 days in a rehab facility in Louisiana. Based on the images of the hotel room, Payne was clearly once again struggling with addiction at the time of his death.
He said in the video: ‘I just kind of feel like I’ve got more of a grip on life and everything that was getting away from me, I just feel like I’ve got more of a handle on it,’ he said.
‘I just needed to take a little bit of time out for myself actually because I kind of became somebody who I didn’t really recognize anymore. And I’m sure you guys didn’t either. I was in bad shape up until that point and I was really happy to kind of put a stopper to life and work.’
Payne has been candid previously about his struggles with mental health and substance usage, taking a step back from the spotlight a few years ago.
‘There is some stuff that I have definitely never, never spoken about,’ he said on the Diary of a CEO podcast in 2021. ‘It was really, really, really severe. It was a problem.
‘And it was only until I saw myself after that I was like, “Right, I need to fix myself”.’
Aged just 16, Payne found stratospheric fame when he joined One Direction in 2010 as he, Harry Styles, Niall Horan, Zayn Malik and Louis Tomlinson formed a boy band on The X Factor after auditioning solo.
The One Direction craze was huge, often compared to Beatlesmania, with the boy band becoming icons overnight.
Payne suffered from agoraphobia, brought on by the intense public interest in his life and constant observation any time he left his home.
‘I was very confused about fame when it all happened,’ Payne told the BBC in 2019, ‘and learning to be a person outside of your job was difficult. But now I feel like I get it. I’m a lucky boy.’
In the same interview, Payne recalled how shortly after he released Strip That Down – his first solo endeavour after One Direction in 2017 – he gave up drinking.
‘There were a couple of very dark years of me going through extreme peril with different mental health things,’ he said. ‘I just didn’t know where I was going to end up.’
Fans have been devastated to see Payne’s struggles with substances and mental illness take such a dark turn, with many taking to social media to remind the world that you never know what battles someone is facing.
X user @daniellegwenyth wrote: ‘I will always believe that the Liam Payne we once loved was still there inside him, Payno just needed help; he was also a victim of mental health struggles, it is so heartbreaking to think that he lost the battle, fighting the inner demons inside him.’
@e_kamia posted: ‘He struggled with alcoholism, substance abuse and mental illness. From the outside looking in, it always felt like he didn’t think he measured up to the other band members, it’s so tragic to see him go. He was someone who needed help.’
@celixalexandra agreed: ‘Liam Payne has suffered from mental health issues for a long time. He took a career break due to several conditions, and came back with new single. Liam deserved more help to prevent him from the death. He deserved more love. Hope you find your peace now.’
Robbie Williams was among the celebrities speaking out about the dangers of fame and how it can exacerbate addiction, posting in a moving tribute to Payne that he had reached out to him to offer his help with the ‘trials and tribulations’ Payne was going through that ‘were very similar to mine.’
The caption reads: ‘How to make sense of the Liam Payne tragedy? 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 then wrote a moving reminder to his fans to remember not to judge anyone, as you never know what they’re going through.
He wrote: ‘We don’t know what’s 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.’
It remains to be seen what role substance abuse and mental illness did or didn’t play in Payne’s death, but many are seeing the singer’s untimely death as a bleak reminder of the dangers of celebrity.
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