Sharon Osbourne believes the late Liam Payne was "let down" by the music industry.
The 72-year-old star - who was a judge on 'The X Factor' from 2004–2007, 2013, and 2016–2017 - has paid tribute to the former One Direction star after he died on Wednesday (16.10.24) aged 31 and admitted she doesn't think he received enough support after becoming a household name at the age of just 16.
Sharing a picture of the singer on Instagram, Sharon wrote: "Liam, my heart aches. We all let you down. Where was this industry when you needed them? You were just a kid when you entered one of the toughest industries in the world. Who was in your corner? Rest in peace my friend @liampayne (sic)"
Liam - who passed away after falling from the third-floor balcony of his hotel room in Buenos Aires - first auditioned for 'The X Factor' in 2008 when he was 14 and returned two years later, where he secured a place in One Direction.
Sharon's comments come after Boyzone singer Mikey Graham called on record companies to bring in new duty of care standards to look after young stars.
In a post on X - previously known as Twitter - he wrote: "RIP Liam Payne. Such tragic news.
"I think it would be a wise move for record companies to have psychologists on their books from now on in his memory as a duty of care for the vulnerability of their young talent.
"Fame can be very damaging especially in today's world. Lots of money. Nobody to help. Lots of yes people. Nobody honest."
Liam previously opened up about his struggle with alcoholism and revealed the One Direction singers were often confined to their hotel rooms due to the level of their fame and he would have a "party for one" using the mini-bar.
During an appearance on 'The Diary of a CEO' podcast, Liam said: "I was worried how far my rock bottom was going to be. Where's rock bottom for me? And you would never have seen it. I'm very good at hiding it. No one would ever have seen it.
"There is some stuff that I have definitely never, never spoken about. It was really, really, really severe. And it was a problem. And it was only until I saw myself after that, I was like 'Right, I need to fix myself."
He added of his boyband days: "The problem was … the best way to secure us [the bandmembers], because of how big it got, was to lock us in a room. And, of course, what is in the room? A minibar.
"At a certain point, I just thought, 'Well, I'm going to have a party for one,' and that just seemed to carry on throughout many years of my life.
"It was wild, but it was the only way you could get the frustration out in the day."
