Liam Payne’s death is the tragic sign we need to ban 16-year-old pop stars

There’s thing similar an unexpected personage decease to halt an evening’s plans successful their tracks. 

And connected Wednesday, my nightly wont of scrolling TikTok was sharply interrupted by the shocking quality that Liam Payne, formerly one-fifth of boyband One Direction, had died.

At lone 31 years old, section constabulary confirmed the singer-songwriter and father-of-one had succumbed to his injuries after falling from the third-floor balcony astatine a edifice successful Buenos Aires, Argentina.

Mere weeks before, he’d been watching his former bandmate Niall Horan execute successful the city, and had been pictured singing on happily with his woman Kate Cassidy.

Watching the confirmation of Payne’s decease rotation retired crossed the quality channels and social media, I felt stunned and profoundly bittersweet astatine this crook of events for idiosyncratic truthful young, truthful talented and with truthful overmuch to unrecorded for.

And it made maine each the much definite that we don’t request immoderate much kid stars.

We archetypal met Payne arsenic an ambitious 14-year-old successful 2008, singing a jazzy rendition of Fly Me to the Moon successful his first X Factor audition.

Though helium charmed the likes of judges Simon Cowell and Cheryl Cole, it wasn’t until 2010 and his 2nd effort connected the TV singing contention that everything started falling into place.

Along with auditionees Harry Styles, Zayn Malik, Louis Tomlinson and Niall Horan, 16-year-old Payne was placed into the caller radical One Direction, which would soon beryllium the UK’s astir palmy lad set since The Beatles.

In conscionable a fewer abbreviated months, Payne and the 1D boys were changeable into superstardom with legions of fans, paparazzi documenting their each determination and the media clamouring for arsenic overmuch of their idiosyncratic accusation arsenic possible.

Though becoming a celebrated vocalist was a imagination travel true, peculiarly for Payne, the harsh sides of planetary notoriety rapidly made themselves clear.

After the set went connected an indefinite hiatus successful 2016, each members became much vocal astir the interaction of their fame and gruelling enactment schedules.

‘It would beryllium car, edifice room, stage, sing, locked,’ Payne said connected the Diary of a CEO podcast successful 2021, claiming determination was a strict regular that near him locked successful his edifice country whenever helium wasn’t performing. Left unsocial with minimal supervision and the minibar, it was his mode of having a ‘party for one’.

Elsewhere, the vocalist had besides discussed his struggles with anxiousness and having experienced suicidal thoughts, telling broadcaster Ant Middleton successful 2019: ‘Every truthful often, you’re like, “When volition this end?” That’s astir astir killed maine a mates of times.’

While the circumstances surrounding Payne’s decease are inactive emerging, reports person noted that emergency services were called to the hotel earlier his decease aft unit were acrophobic astir his erratic behaviour.

A transcript of the telephone notes that helium was thought to beryllium intoxicated with drugs and intoxicant and had been destroying his room.

While celebrated stars having substance maltreatment issues and intelligence wellness struggles is nary caller phenomenon, the tragic extremity of Liam Payne’s beingness should beryllium arsenic overmuch crushed arsenic immoderate to rethink putting radical successful the spotlight earlier they’ve had the accidental to turn up.

We’ve had excessively galore instances of kid stars suffering into their big lives and engaging successful harmful behaviours to question it disconnected arsenic a coincidence. 

Even earlier zooming to the apical of the charts with Baby One More Time, Britney Spears had had her archetypal sensation of fame arsenic a formed subordinate connected The Mickey Mouse Club. Despite an incredibly palmy popular career, Spears struggled with tabloid attraction and had a nationalist breakdown, starring to years of a conservatorship and intelligence wellness issues.

In her 2023 memoir, The Woman successful Me, she wrote astir however aboriginal fame meant she had to woody with being sexualised astatine a young age, and however the attraction severely affected her self-esteem.

Michael Jackson was yet different personage who became celebrated young and was considered ‘troubled’ earlier his 2009 death. And adjacent earlier than this, Judy Garland was lone 16 erstwhile she starred successful the 1939 classical The Wizard of Oz – but was astir arsenic celebrated for her struggles with fame arsenic she was for her talent.

Though determination are examples of kid fame producing adults who’ve had bully experiences, the conception of having wealth and fame with nary existent acquisition of the satellite has repeatedly been a look for trouble.

In 2019, Justin Bieber opened up astir however having entree to ‘whatever helium wanted’ earlier learning existent satellite skills and work acceptable him up for mediocre decision-making arsenic an adult, including the usage of ‘heavy drugs’.

‘By 20, I made each atrocious determination you could person thought of and went from 1 of the astir loved and adored radical successful the satellite to the astir ridiculed, judged, and hated idiosyncratic successful the world,’ helium wrote successful a lengthy Instagram caption.

Fame tin beryllium pugnacious astatine immoderate age, but astatine slightest erstwhile a idiosyncratic is thrust successful beforehand of the satellite arsenic an adult, they’ve had much years of beingness experience, and position to equilibrium the absurdities of the amusement manufacture against.

Payne was exposed to respective experiences that you can’t expect astir radical to grip well, particularly astatine an property wherever you’re inactive increasing and figuring retired your spot successful the world.

For mundane people, going to schoolhouse tin beryllium capable of a minefield – fto unsocial the unit of being valued for your talent, looks and bankability earlier you’re adjacent allowed to drive.

It can’t beryllium casual to person entree to thousands of opinions astir you astatine once, but being a afloat realised big earlier that happens surely gives you a amended accidental astatine coming retired of it unscathed. 

We’ll ne'er cognize whether Liam Payne and the boys of One Direction would person enjoyed the aforesaid vocation occurrence if they’d go celebrated a small later. And arsenic the quality astir Payne’s decease settles, we’ll surely larn adjacent much astir his interior beingness and the roadworthy that led him to his last days.

However, this should surely beryllium a infinitesimal wherever we reconsider however due it is for children to participate this satellite earlier they tin decently conceive of what fame means.

Perhaps helium could person been amended equipped to grip the value of the world’s attraction if he’d been allowed to turn up successful private.

Do you person a communicative you’d similar to share? Get successful interaction by emailing [email protected]. 

Share your views successful the comments below.

MORE : One Direction successful awe of Liam Payne’s ‘secret talent’ – and however helium pulled it off

MORE : Liam Payne’s distressing last words earlier decease revealed by edifice impermanent

MORE : Game of Thrones prima sectioned aft being ‘lured’ by wellness cult