Deirdre Reynolds: ‘Liam Payne’s death poses questions for us all – not just the media’

One Direction superstar Liam, just 31, died after falling from a third-floor balcony in a hotel in Buenos Aires on Wednesday.

And disbelieving fans were left even further stunned when US showbiz news giant TMZ published photos of the singer’s dead body on the ground outside Casa Sur Hotel.

British TV presenter Rylan Clark was just one of those to publicly blast the ghoulish snaps as a “f***ing disgrace”, with others also calling them “beyond deplorable” and “morally decrepit”.

Doubling down on the editorial decision to share the images, which were later removed by TMZ as if the screen grab function doesn’t exist, executive producer Michael Babcock shamelessly tried to argue that the pictures of the “very recognisable tattoos” on the dad-of-one’s arm and waist helped to confirm early reports of his death.

“There’s a balance, and that’s obviously a conversation that newsrooms across the world have,” he told Fox 5 New York. “You want to be sensitive to the family and to the friends and also while working a news story.”

Now, obviously that’s a BS excuse for trying to get the scoop on one of the biggest breaking news stories of the year.

But I don’t agree with the backlash to all and any coverage of the young star’s death either, after he “jumped from the balcony of his room”, according to local police, or that some of the tacky reportage of recent days is a media ethics problem any more than it is a societal one.

As a global pop idol (inset), with 28 million adoring followers on Instagram, Payne’s fame was never going to die with him under any circumstances, so the unquenchable interest in the story across every medium this week of his sudden passing is entirely to be expected.

Demonising the mainstream media for satiating that thirst by publishing photos of his trashed hotel room allegedly showing drugs and alcohol, or the hotel manager’s frantic 911 call moments before his death, while pressing the repost button on social media without a hint of irony, is easy.

As one fan quite rightly pointed out though: “The real issue is who from the staff at the hotel or medical team sold the original image. None of the public had access to that specific viewpoint at that time. Snapping that picture on your phone and selling it is grossly immoral.”

Similarly, on more than one occasion here, Gardaí have had to implore rubbernecking motorists not to share photos of fatal car accidents on WhatsApp or other platforms, in tragedies involving private individuals, with no justifiable public interest.

Liam’s premature passing is sure, in time, to spark valid conversations about addiction and the cost of fame on mental health.

Just like ordinary Irish families who’ve received the phone call that every parent or partner dreads, ultimately when his death fades from the headlines, it’s his heartbroken girlfriend Kate Cassidy, seven year-old son, Bear, with ex- Cheryl Cole, mum Karen and dad Geoff, and sisters Nicola and Ruth, who must pick up the pieces.