Liam Payne’s former partner Cheryl Tweedy has described media coverage of his death “abhorrent”.
It came as the singer’s father, Geoff Payne, travelled to Buenos Aires in Argentina to organise the repatriation of his 31-year-old son’s body. He was seen exiting the CasaSur Palermo hotel, where the singer died after falling from a third-floor balcony on Wednesday.
In a video shared on the BBC, Payne was seen visiting tributes left by fans outside the hotel, reading letters and pausing around flowers, photographs and candles.
It came after Tweedy, the former Girls Aloud singer, voiced concerns over protecting their seven-year-old son, Bear, and criticised the “media exploitation” since the star’s death.
In an Instagram post, she said: “As I try to navigate this earth-shattering event, and work through my own grief at this indescribably painful time, I’d like to kindly remind everyone that we have lost a human being.
“Liam was not only a pop star and celebrity, he was a son, a brother, an uncle, a dear friend and a father to our 7-year-old son.
“A son that now has to face the reality of never seeing his father again. What is troubling my spirit the most is that one day Bear will have access to the abhorrent reports and media exploitation we have seen in the past two days. It is breaking my heart further that I cannot protect him from that in his future.”
The post was made alongside a black and white photo of Payne, with whom she had a relationship between 2016 and 2018, and their son.
Cheryl added: “I am begging you to consider what use some of these reports are serving, other than to cause further harm to everyone left behind picking up the pieces.
“Before you leave comments or make videos, ask yourself if you would like your own child or family to read them. Please give Liam the little dignity he has left in the wake of his death to rest in some peace at last.”
Her statement came after Payne’s girlfriend, Kate Cassidy, said she was at a “complete loss” following his death. “Nothing about the past few days have felt real,” she said in a post on her own Instagram story.
“Liam, my angel, you are everything. I want you to know I loved you unconditionally and completely. I will continue to love you for the rest of my life. I love you Liam.”
Meanwhile, music mogul Simon Cowell said he was “truly devastated” after the death of the singer, adding that he also felt “heartbroken” and “empty”. “Every tear I have shed is a memory of you,” he wrote in a statement on Instagram.
Payne found fame alongside Niall Horan, Louis Tomlinson, Zayn Malik and Harry Styles when The X Factor creator Cowell put them together to form One Direction on the ITV talent show in 2010.
A joint statement from the band said they were “completely devastated” and would miss the singer “terribly”, adding the “memories we shared with him will be treasured forever”.
Payne died of multiple traumas and “internal and external haemorrhage”, a postmortem report said. Argentina’s national criminal and correctional prosecutor’s office No 16 said it was investigating the incident as an “inconclusive death” following the report.