Robbie Williams has shared an impassioned tribute to the One Direction singer Liam Payne, who died this week after falling from a balcony in a Buenos Aires hotel.
Williams acted as a mentor to One Direction when the band competed on The X Factor in 2010, and continued a friendship with Payne and the group.
He says he felt, and continues to feel, “shock, sadness and confusion” at Payne’s death, and recalled meeting him and his bandmates. “They were all cheeky and lovely. I enjoyed the lighthearted pisstakery and thought about all the times I was that cheeky pisstaker with the pop stars that had gone before me when I was in Take That. Our paths have crossed ever since that day and I’m fond of them all. Liam’s trials and tribulations were very similar to mine, so it made sense to reach out and offer what I could. So I did.”
Drug paraphernalia was discovered in Payne’s hotel room, and he had previously been open about struggles with alcohol and drug use. Williams draws on his own history of addiction during his tribute.
“I still had my demons at 31,” he wrote – Payne’s age when he died. “I relapsed. I was in pain. I was in pain because I relapsed. I relapsed because of a multitude of painful reasons. I remember Heath Ledger passing and thinking ‘I’m next’. By the grace of God and/or dumb luck I’m still here.”
He called for more kindness and empathy from the public towards famous figures who might be experiencing difficulties in their personal lives, saying: “Even famous strangers need your compassion.”
He added, in block capitals: “We don’t know what’s going on in people’s lives. What pain they’re going through and what makes them behave in the way that they behave. Before we reach to judgment, a bit of slack needs to be given. Before you type anything on the internet, have a think: ‘Do I really need to publish this?’ Because that’s what you’re doing. You’re publishing your thoughts for anybody to read. Even if you don’t really think that celebrities or their families exist. They fucking do. Skin and bone and immensely sensitive.”
A coroner’s report found that Payne died of multiple injuries from the fall from the third-floor balcony, and that he was alone at the time of his death.
As well as an outpouring of grief from his global fanbase, his former bandmates wrote individual tributes, as well as a joint statement saying in part: “The memories we shared with him will be treasured for ever”.
Williams’ career – including his struggles with drugs – will be depicted in an unusual forthcoming biopic. Better Man, directed by The Greatest Showman’s Michael Gracey and released on Boxing Day, charts the pop singer’s rise to fame, with a CGI monkey playing Williams.
