Piers Morgan has ignited a firestorm with his comments on the tragic demise of Liam Payne.
The former One Direction luminary met with a devastating fate at the tender age of 31 last week, after a fatal plunge from the balcony of his third-story hotel room in Buenos Aires, Argentina.
The beloved celebrity passed away due to a multitude of injuries leading to “internal and external hemorrhage”.
In the latest release of his YouTube series, Piers convened a panel including Howie Mandel, Liam’s mate and ex-X Factor associate Katie Waissel, radio host James Barr, and media pundit Esther Krakue, to discuss the mournful incident.
Liam Payne tragically lost his life last week, but his family have questions over his death (Image: WireImage)
Veteran broadcaster Piers disclosed that at his time of passing, Liam had numerous substances in his body, “including cocaine, crack and benzodiazepine,” according to local accounts. These drugs are thought to be part of “pink cocaine”, a dangerous blend reputed to contain narcotics like MDMA, ketamine, methamphetamine, cocaine, benzodiazepine, and crack.
On a recent episode of Uncensored, ex-America’s Got Talent judge Howie Mandel commented, as reported by the Mirror, that on talent platforms such as Got Talent and X Factor, “if we feel that somebody is going south a little bit, there is somebody to watch over them and talk to them.”
He elaborated: “This is not a talent thing. In fact, Liam if he came to a talent thing, his outcome was great. The people who are rejected have the harder time.”
He acknowledged Liam’s openness about his past substance abuse issues and subsequent turnaround. Piers commented: “Howie, let me bring in Katie what I will say there about Liam, who I didn’t know very well. I know some members of the band One Direction much better Niall is a good friend of mine and so on. Clearly Niall and Harry Styles and Louis, they’ve all built incredibly successful solo careers, I’ve covered many boybands over the years, some of them end up doing better than others when they go solo.”
Katie, now pursuing legal studies to qualify as a solicitor, has been outspoken about the lack of support she and other 2010 show alumni received afterwards. As Piers delved into The X Factor’s duty of care, Howie couldn’t contain himself, exclaiming emphatically: “Nothing, nothing, nothing.”
James Barr contributed, noting: “Yet these shows would describe these people as their family.”
“Did she need help then?” Howie interjected forcefully, speaking over Katie. Esther joined the conversation with a critical note: “When these people are becoming famous and they’re getting the money that they want. But when you have the dark side of fame, that apparently becomes everyone else’s fault.”
Nonetheless, he has come under fire on social media for seemingly shifting blame onto Liam.
“Do better… You should know better than to blame the victim,” one disgruntled Twitter user stated. Another chimed in: ” Piers Morgan doesn’t make any sense.”
A third weighed in: “Yes a dark side of fame, but no not suddenly it is everyones fault. Fans/public have known for a while how terrible the industry is. We have spoken out many times before. Liam is just the current artist to have something tragic happen. So many have passed under suspicious causes.”
“The fact Piers and Howie were even considered ‘talent’ judges at one point in time without having an ounce of it themselves is bizarre, Leave Liam rest in peace, don’t throw stones while living in a glass house.”
Katie Waissel then condemned the situation, saying: “It was abhorrent from start to finish.”
In the wake of Liam’s passing, a petition has garnered over 60,000 signatures, calling on the government to introduce new laws aimed at safeguarding musicians and their mental health, with supporters advocating for the legislation to be dubbed “Liam’s law.”
