‘Give Liam dignity’: Cheryl Tweedy breaks silence on Payne’s death

Cheryl Tweedy has broken her silence on the death of former partner Liam Payne, lashing “abhorrent” reports about the One Direction star’s death.

Pop star Cheryl Tweedy has broken her silence on the “earth shattering” death of her ex Liam Payne, calling on the media to remember he was not just a celebrity but a “human being”.

Tweedy, who shares seven-year-old son Bear with former One Direction singer Payne, shared a picture of the 31-year-old with their boy on Instagram accompanied by a heart-wrenching message.

“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,” the 41-year-old singer wrote on Instagram, alongside a photo of Payne with their then newborn son.

“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.”

Cheryl with her former partner Liam Payne. Picture: EPA/Neil Hall

Cole wrote of her heartbreak at not being able to protect their young son from one day reading the “media exploitation” detailing his father’s last days.

“Before you leave comments or make videos, ask yourself if you would like your own child or family to read them,” she wrote.

“Please give Liam the little dignity he has left in the wake of his death to rest in some peace at last.”

Liam Payne's ex-partner Cheryl has broken her silence after his death.

It comes shortly after Payne’s heartbroken girlfriend Kate Cassidy, 25, also spoke for the first time, saying she had been “at a complete loss” after leaving Argentina just two days before he died.

Cassidy wrote, “Nothing about the past few days have felt real.

“I ask and pray that you’ll give me the grace and space to navigate this in private.

“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.”

Liam Payne’s heartbroken girlfriend has broken her silence. Picture: Instagram

Payne died from multiple injuries after falling from a third floor hotel balcony in Buenos Aires on Wednesday afternoon.

Kate had been on holiday with him in the South American country but returned home to the US two days earlier.

The couple had flown out to watch Liam’s One Direction bandmate Niall Horan perform in the country and, while out there, extended their stay.

After two weeks away the American actress revealed she was ready to leave and decided to head home.

She explained on TikTok: “Honestly, love South America but I hate staying in one place for too long. And we were supposed to be there for, like, five days, turned into two weeks.”

“I was just like, ‘I need to go home’.”

The pair were together for two years and recently moved into a new home in Florida.

Liam was first linked to Kate in October 2022, before making their first red carpet debut together two months later.

US influencer Kate Cassidy said she had been at a “complete loss” after leaving Argentina two days before the singer died. Picture: Instagram

‘Disturbing’ final moments revealed

The statement comes after one of the last people to speak with Payne detailed the singer’s “disturbing” behaviour in his final moments before he fell to his death.

A woman named Rebecca was staying at the same hotel as Payne for a friend’s wedding when she encountered the former One Direction band member in the lobby, she told the Daily Mail.

“I came into the hotel, and he was waiting by the elevator, and it was so clear he wanted someone to recognise him,” Rebecca, who did not share her last name, recalled.

“There was something a bit desperate about him.”

The tourist noted that one of her friends was supposed to get Payne’s suite, and staffers were “a little on edge” because he had not checked out and it was already 4.30pm, reports The New York Post’s Page Six.

Rebecca said she was standing near Payne with her friends at the lift, and while they recognised the star, they afforded him privacy and did not react to his stardom.

“When the lift came, he suddenly said to us without any prompting, ‘Yes, I’m Liam!’ really drawing it out, and then said, ‘All right, come on, you lot, get in the elevator with me. I love a cuddle,’” she claimed.

Rebecca said she decided to wait for the next lift, but a few of her friends rode up with Payne and made conversation with him.

“Some of the other girls got in with him, and halfway up, he started saying, ‘Oh, you’re Americans. I live in West Palm Beach. I know Americans. You guys are f**king crazy! You guys are f**king dangerous!’” she remembered.

One of the last photos of Liam Payne, taken by a fan in Argentina. Picture: Supplied

Images of his hotel room have since been released, showing it had been trashed. Picture: Buenos Aires Police/AFP

The hotel guest said Payne then grabbed a woman who she believed he had been “with him” and started “fake-choking her”.

“Only lightly, but the others thought it was really disturbing,” she admitted.

Ten minutes later, Rebecca returned to the lobby, only to see Payne return with his laptop shortly after.

“I have a blind relative, and I realised he had the laptop on its accessibility setting, for some reason, so that each time he moved the mouse, hovering over something, the machine spoke out loud to say where the cursor was,” she recalled.

“I assumed he was doing that for the attention, too,” she continued. “Then he opened his emails and saw one which obviously upset him. Suddenly he took the computer, shouted, ‘F**k this sh*t, mate!’ and started bashing the computer on the ground”.

Rebecca said onlookers were “really shocked” by the Story of My Life singer’s outburst.

“It’s a high-end hotel, and his behaviour was so out of place — people were just chilling,” she said.

Eventually, Rebecca approached the erratic celebrity to see whether he needed help.

“I went over, asked, ‘Are you OK?’ But he just kind of grunted. Then he said, ‘I used to be in a boy band. That’s why I’m so f**ked up,’” she claimed.

Rebecca said she was taken aback by his comments and “couldn’t believe” he had said “something like that”.

“There was a lot more swearing, and he took the laptop over and went to get back in the lift,” she said.

Rebecca noted that a British man in Payne’s entourage came over to apologise for his friend’s bad manners and explained to her that he “‘just gets so high sometimes’”.

“I did wonder what these people with him were doing to help him, but maybe they had tried and failed,” she said.

“The hotel staff were freaking out and watching him really nervously. I could see one of them was on the phone to what I assumed was security or the police.”

His tragic death sent shockwaves around the world. Picture: Marc Piasecki/GC Images

Rebecca described Payne as having dilated pupils and a lack of focus and he was behaving aggressively.

“I’ve never taken cocaine, but he was behaving exactly as I’d imagine someone would on the drug,” she speculated.

Payne re-entered the lobby a third time while Rebecca was still down there, only this time he could not stay on his feet.

“He walked in again and just tripped and fell flat on his face, sprawling across the floor,” she said.

“The staff came to help him and get him back in the elevator, and that’s when I took the last photo.”

Rebecca’s picture, which she shared with the outlet, showed Payne chatting with two women as his British friend held the lift door open for him so that they could go back up to the third floor.

“It wasn’t long after that when the police arrived, and initially we thought they were just going to kick him out, but then when the staff started running around like crazy, we suddenly realised the seriousness of what had happened,” Rebecca said.

Payne (far right) found fame in One Direction. Picture: Francois Durand/Getty Images

The shaken hotel guest said a few of her friends witnessed Payne fall from his balcony into the hotel courtyard.

“It was awful, and at first they thought he might have just injured himself, but then we saw the body out in the courtyard, and later they brought him out on a stretcher,” she said.

“It was all so horrible.”

Payne’s skull fractured during tragic balcony fall

Payne tragically died on Wednesday after falling from his third-floor room at hotel. He was 31.

The former boy bander suffered multiple traumas that led to internal and external bleeding, the National Criminal and Correctional Prosecutor’s Office told Page Six of its preliminary autopsy report on Thursday.

Emergency doctor Alberto Crescenti shared that Payne suffered a cranial fracture and “extremely serious injuries that led to his immediate death,” and he was unable to be revived by first responders.

Authorities confirmed alcohol and controlled substances were found in his room, which was completely trashed, following his death.

His former bandmates — Harry Styles, Zayn Malik, Niall Horan and Louis Tomlinson — mourned his loss in a heartbreaking statement Thursday.

“We’re completely devastated by the news of Liam’s passing,” the now-defunct group told Page Six.

“In time, and when everyone is able to, there will be more to say. But for now, we will take some time to grieve and process the loss of our brother, who we loved dearly,” they added.

- With Page Six, The Sun

Originally published as ‘Give Liam dignity’: Cheryl Tweedy breaks silence on Payne’s death