"Doesn’t make that you part of it?" — Netizens slam Dan Wooton over Liam Payne tribute where he calls music industry "evil"

Netizens have slammed journalist Dan Wootton after he paid tribute to the recently deceased Liam Payne. The former One Direction member died on October 16, 2024 after reportedly falling from the third floor of a hotel in Buenos Aires, Argentina.

After the news of Liam Payne's demise, Dan Wootton took to X (formerly Twitter) to share his grief and pay tribute to the 31-year-old singer. However, netizens seemingly didn't react positively to several phrases used by the journalist in his tweet.

For starters, he called the music industry "evil" and described Payne's demise as a "waste of life." X users were quick to slam Wootton, calling him out for his allegedly insensitive comment. Some popular reactions are as follows:

"You wrote for the sun - bizarre and all the pop gossip. Doesn’t make that you part of it?" wrote a netizen on X.

"You would know since you're part of the problem, you sick f*ck," revolted another.

"You were part of the problem," agreed another user on X.

One fan explained why using the phrase "waste of life" was allegedly not appropriate while talking about Liam Payne's death.

"You know, you could’ve left out the “waste of life“ part. A tragedy. He was very young and it is a tragedy for someone who is in the news industry or the public eye, toward something like this is awful. I haven’t seen anything about his death other than he fell from a hotel in Argentina. I have not seen anything saying it was suicide, but that’s because I literally just found out. If it is suicide, stating it this way, it’s still really crappy of you. It shows very little compassion or care for how your words come across," wrote the fan.

"If that isn’t the pot calling the kettle black. The industry is evil? Damn right it is and you were right in the middle of it all," opined another.

"What happened? Why is the music industry implicated?" interrogated another fan on X.

"The music industry is not evil; what an odd statement to make when someone has passed away," opined one netizen.

Some netizens, however, sided with Dan, commenting on the alleged terrors of the music industry.

"I think Dan is assuming deliberate. My daughter thought that right away and it entered my head. My daughter said he had history of depression. Thus, the comment makes sense," wrote a fan on X.

"For Dan to say any industry is evil with his history in the tabloid industry as a 'journalist' is quite something," wrote another.

"Nothing odd about it. On the money and on the nail. The music industry is evil. Do the research," inferred another user.

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Liam Payne once shared "the most daunting celebrity experience" in the music industry

"All Of Those Voices" UK Premiere - VIP Access - Source: Getty (Photo by Dave J Hogan/Getty Images )

Liam Payne once talked about one of the most harrowing experiences in his music career that involved Diddy. In a May 2017 interview with Australian radio station KIIS FM, Liam Payne recalled a meet-up with the recently arrested media mogul at a star-studded party.

The deceased singer thought that Diddy was the most approachable among the stalwarts in the room like Jay-Z and Leonardo DiCaprio. Approaching the media mogul to introduce himself, Payne was met with an icy response. He recalled:

“I went over to speak to him and Jay-Z, and as I shook his hand, he just chuckled... the most evil laugh I've ever heard… So, I'm a little bit fearful of that man.”

Later, he labeled the experience as "the most daunting celebrity experience ever."

Liam Payne described the same incident on The Graham Norton Show alongside Salma Hayek and David Williams. In the show, he also added that Diddy shook his hands for a very long time and Jay-Z's bodyguards "shoved" him away at the same party.