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Harry Styles honors ‘lovely friend’ Liam Payne in touching tribute

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Harry Styles is paying tribute to his late friend and former One Direction bandmate, Liam Payne, who died on Wednesday at age 31.

Styles posted an emotional message sharing his grief on Instagram Thursday, posted alongside a candid photo of Payne, taken from behind while performing on stage in front of thousands of fans.

“I am truly devastated by Liam’s passing. His greatest joy was making other people happy, and it was an honour to be alongside him as he did it,” Styles wrote. “Liam lived wide open, with his heart on his sleeve, he had an energy for life that was infectious. He was warm, supportive, and incredibly loving.”

Harry Styles and Liam Payne on ‘Good Morning America’ in 2015.

Stephen Lovekin/Getty


The post concluded, “The years we spent together will forever remain among the most cherished years of my life. I will miss him always, my lovely friend. My heart breaks for Karen, Geoff, Nicola and Ruth, his son Bear, and all those around the world who knew him and loved him, as I did.”

On Thursday, an autopsy report from Argentina’s National Criminal and Correctional Prosecutor’s Office determined Payne died of “multiple traumas” and “internal and external hemorrhages” after falling from the third-floor balcony of his hotel room in Buenos Aires, according to a translated press release originally written in Spanish.

Payne died on the scene of the incident. The prosecutor’s office added that the death is being investigated as what was translated as either a “doubtful death” or “suspicious death,” but claimed that “everything indicates that the musician was alone when the fall occurred, and was going through some kind of outbreak due to substance abuse.”

Styles and Payne, as well as Niall Horan, Louis Tomlinson, and Zayn Malik, formed beloved boy band One Direction in 2010, after each auditioning individually for reality competition show The X Factor. (They were first combined into a band by judges Nicole Scherzinger and Simon Cowell.)

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One Direction ultimately placed third on the show, but went on to become global superstars, and one of the bestselling boy bands of all time with more than 70 million records sold worldwide. Together, they released five chart-topping albums and toured the world before announcing in August of 2015 that they’d be taking an indefinite hiatus starting the following year.

Together, the bandmates released a statement on Payne’s death, also on Thursday. “We’re completely devastated by the news of Liam’s passing,” began the statement. “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.”

Liam Payne.

Jeff Spicer/Getty


Their joint statement continued, “The memories we shared with him will be treasured forever. For now, our thoughts are with his family, his friends, and the fans who loved him alongside us. We will miss him terribly. We love you Liam.”

At the time of his death, Payne was in Argentina where he attended a concert by Horan. The late singer is survived by his family, his girlfriend, Kate Cassidy, and 7-year-old son Bear, whom he shares with ex Cheryl Cole.

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