News of former One Direction star Liam Payne's tragic death has sent shockwaves of grief through fans of the group. Payne's final post to Instagram shows he had been thinking about the boy band's legacy, too.
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00:00News of former One Direction star Liam Payne's tragic death has sent shockwaves of grief
00:05through fans of the group. Payne's final post to Instagram shows he had been thinking about
00:10the boy band's legacy, too. Reports confirmed that the Sunshine singer fell from the third
00:15story of Casa Sur Palermo Hotel in Buenos Aires, Argentina, with local medical agency
00:21S.A.M.E. revealing to Rolling Stone that Payne plunged roughly 40 feet, suffering, quote,
00:26severe injuries incompatible with life.
00:29Crowds are continuing to gather outside the Buenos Aires hotel where he apparently spent
00:34his final hours."
00:35Payne's passing was especially stunning because just hours before, he had been active on social
00:40media, sharing joyful moments of his trip with his girlfriend, influencer Kate Cassidy.
00:45In now-deleted Snapchat stories, he posted snippets of their adventure, captioning one,
00:50"'Lovely day in Argentina.'"
00:52On his Instagram story, he even teased their trip's purpose of reuniting with a former
00:56bandmate, writing,
00:57"'We're going to Argentina. One, because we want to. Two, because we want to. And three,
01:03because Niall Horan's playing down there and I think we might just go and say hello.'"
01:07Though Payne didn't post as frequently on Instagram, his final post also hinted that
01:11he was thinking back to his 1D days — the photo featuring Payne with his then-bandmates
01:16Harry Styles, Zayn Malik, Niall Horan, and Louis Tomlinson — and the late This Is Us
01:21director Morgan Spurlock honored the director a few days after his May 23, 2024 death.
01:27Payne wrote in the caption,
01:28"'Rest in peace, Morgan Spurlock. It was a pleasure working with you.'"
01:32The post also marked the first time in ages that Payne had shared something featuring
01:36all his bandmates, making it all the more poignant.
01:39Since his passing, the post has been flooded with emotional tributes from fans who grew
01:43up idolizing Payne in one direction.
01:45One fan wrote,
01:46"'Coming back to say, sorry the world failed you, Liam.'
01:49Another posted the comment,
01:50"'You're missed by millions, Liam. I can never repay you for the memories I made from One
01:54Direction. I hope you're singing in the sky. Rest in peace, man.'"
01:58Others reflected on the impact Payne had on their lives, with one writing,
02:01"'I couldn't believe that he really passed. He was part of my childhood and my fave main
02:05artist in a band 1D. Now he's gone. All of his music is just a memories. You're a legend,
02:11man. You will be so missed. Rest in peace, Liam.'"
02:13Since One Direction went on its indefinite hiatus in 2016, Payne's relationship with
02:18his bandmates has been anything but smooth. Payne stirred controversy during an appearance
02:23on Logan Paul's podcast, Impulsive, where he spoke rather candidly about his former
02:28band members. He admitted that he and Louis Tomlinson hated each other at one point, and
02:33even recounted a physical altercation with Zayn Malik involving being thrown against
02:37a wall.
02:38Payne also raised eyebrows among fans by suggesting that producer Simon Cowell had told him that
02:42One Direction was built around him.
02:44So he kind of started with my face and then worked around the rest of them. Never told
02:49us what it was."
02:50Payne later walked back his statements, admitting in a YouTube video that he wasn't in the best
02:54headspace when he made those comments.
02:55My own frustrations with my own career and where I kind of landed. I took shots at everybody
02:59else, which is wrong. So obviously I want to apologize for that in the first instance
03:02because that's definitely not me."
03:04He went on to reveal that he had just completed a stint in rehab and credited his bandmates
03:08for supporting him through his struggles, saying that they
03:11came to the rescue.