By Emma Jane Cooke
“Liam Payne’s sister reveals that she found out about her brother’s death through social media and not through her family or friends.”
The funeral of Liam Payne took place on November 20th, with former bandmates in attendance, which is now public knowledge thanks to the work of media publications, yet does this add to the epidemic of the privacy invasion of public figures? The media’s reaction to the death of Liam Payne has sparked a discussion on their contribution to the tragic narratives of these celebrity deaths. In most cases it is common for the very fine line of ethics and morals to be crossed by the media in order to produce eye catching content, but at what cost?
The Potential Source?
To anyone who regularly indulges themselves in pop culture and media culture, it is well known that there have been many instances where fame and stardom have caused a severe and long lasting effect on the wellbeing of many artists. Although this is a given with the media, there is still a lack of aid towards this issue, forcing us to witness more and more cases of this situation. To take Liam Payne as an example, the sudden switch to celebrity stardom can be overwhelming especially with the eye of the media and the public constantly watching you. These artists have to adapt quickly to fit the standards of their iconography, in the case of Liam Payne, a young attractive boyband member who will be making four albums in four years while also completing multiple legs of tour dates. It was later revealed post One Direction that Liam had struggled with substance abuse, inevitably playing a hand in his death.
Liam Payne pictured with former bandmate Zayn Malik. “Zayn Malik & Liam Payne of One Direction” by alesiax is licensed under CC BY-SA 2.0.
Anything for clicks:
Events such as this in particular, clarify the intentions of certain media publications. The most accessible news outlets are online articles yet this makes it difficult to determine the reliable from the harmful sources. For example, TMZ, a popular celebrity publication was the first to announce the death of the popstar, by posting photos of the body of Payne. This created uproar and the post was then deleted. The behaviour in certain publications adds to the evidence that there needs to be a new protocol to follow when these incidents occur and how they should be in accordance with respect and privacy while also informing the public in a morally neutral manner.
Liam Payne’s sister reveals that she found out about her brother’s death through social media and not through her family or friends. This harrowing statement shows the news hungry publications are willing to throw all decency out the window for shock value and clicks without considering who it may affect. It is also important to note the mental impact this release caused as many viewers may be severely impacted from seeing a lifeless body, especially of someone they were a fan of. Online publications such as Headline are an Irish online media publication that aim to reduce the stigma around mental health while also improving the representation of mental health within media. Sources such as this one are important to research in times like these where there have now been a number of celebrity deaths that have been tragically reported in a dramatic affect, such as Matthew Perry where there is accessible images of his pool and hot tub in which he drowned in.
Reactions:
Former Boyzone member Mikey Graham has called for a youth psychologist to be employed for these young stars, as in the case of Liam Payne, he was only 16 when he began his journey with One Direction. The BBC has released an article that reveals there is a petition to protect artists from the entertainment industry and when they need to be held accountable for their behaviours and methods of treatment towards their clients. Cheryl Cole, known for her involvement in the girl group Girls Aloud, released a tribute post to the father of her son where she spoke about the villainous activity of the media and the press and how it has directly affected those closest to her. It has also been announced that esteemed journalist, Louis Theroux is in the works of a documentary relating to the boyband experience, titled Boybands Forever. This docuseries will include the presence of music businessmen such as Simon Cowell, a persona well known within the One Direction verse.
It is important to reflect on the fact that it took a celebrity death, of someone that many of the public were not expecting, to finally create a discussion that would reach many platforms. Liam’s behaviour in particular was a topic of discussion for those who were observing his social media presence in the last few years. It was clear he was not coping mentally yet the only thing that could be done was to watch until it was too late. It is a common trend for artists to turn to substance abuse to cope with the attention and work that is involved in this role, especially if you are known for something that ended many years ago, in this case, the end of One Direction, which many could call the prime era for Liam Payne.
When conducting interviews in the city centre to the general public, many were quick to point out the unexpectedness of Payne’s death, “I never would have imagined one of the members to go this quickly, I was already dreading the day this would happen, I never would’ve thought it would happen this way either”. Another interviewee commented “There is clearly something corrupt happening in the music business that they gloss over to the public.”
The recent photos taken at Payne’s funeral are one of the latest examples of privacy invasion while showing that there is no rest for those in the public eye. Many public figures have called for action by using their platforms as a voice. There is clearly a trend within the music business and even the general show business routine that is inhumane, causing these outcomes until the next one occurs and so on. Payne can be considered the first death to really take a toll with the younger generation as many fans followed his journey from when he was a young boy on a talent show, to the end of his life.