"People are not looked after enough in this industry"— Perrie Edwards reflects on Liam Payne's death

Girl group Little Mix's Perrie Edwards reflected on former One Direction member Liam Payne's death. During her appearance on The Happy Place podcast on Monday, October 28, 2024, the singer discussed the dark side of fame with host Fearne Cotton. Stressing the need to combat online trolling and the need to provide support, she remarked:

"There are no consequences for people's comments online. People are not looked after enough in this industry, people are put on a pedestal."

Payne passed away on October 16 after falling from the balcony of his hotel room in Buenos Aires, Argentina. Expressing her disbelief, Edwards stated:

"It's just so sad and heartbreaking and my heart hurts for his family and friends, Cheryl, his little boy."

Just like One Direction, Perrie Edwards' band Little Mix was formed on X Factor, one year apart. It consisted of Edwards, Leigh-Anne Pinnock, Jade Thirlwall, and Jesy Nelson. They were one of the most successful girl bands before Nelson's exit in 2020. They went on hiatus in 2022.

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"Our careers were very aligned"— Perrie Edwards reveals how Liam Payne's death affected her Little Mix bandmates

Perrie Edwards expressed her loss at Liam Payne's death, stating that it was "devastating." She also revealed that her Little Mix mates were deeply affected as well, with Leigh-Anne Pinnock noting it felt a little too "close to home." She stated:

"Us girls were messaging, and I think Leigh-Anne was like, ‘it’s very close to home’, Our careers were very aligned, we had a close relationship with them. It's honestly so sad, it made my body feel so weird when I saw the headline," Edwards told the podcast host.

Edwards added that Little Mix had a relationship with One Direction, and hearing the news saddened her. She added that it was "blooming awful," and she couldn't imagine what Liam Payne's family must be going through.

The Forget About Us singer continued to explain that success and fame come at a price. She added that stars in the industry are not well protected by the negative comments on social media. She continued:

"They are treated like a god and then everyone jumps on this bandwagon of like 'let's tear them down'. But people are human. Can we make rules with social media? I can't bear it - I try to not look as I can go into a hole of just looking at negative comments."

Edwards elaborated that success and fame were two different things, stating that success was "lovely" and "joyful." She explained that it was like, "You’re doing what you love, and you’re benefiting from it, and you get all these lovely things, and it feels great."

She added that there was a "dark side" to fame and remarked:

"You don’t think of the things that come with that (fame), and it’s hard, and it’s really intense, but I think that’s why I try and surround myself with as many people as I can, that just make me feel good when I’m feeling crap."

The singer added that sometimes she brought her therapist to work as she couldn't cope with the panic attacks.

Perrie Edwards dated Liam Payne's former 1D bandmate, Zayn Malik, after meeting him on X Factor in 2011. The pair were engaged in 2013 but ended their relationship in 2015.

In the days leading to his death, Liam Payne was in Argentina to attend Niall Horan's (1D bandmate) concert. According to his last Snapchat story, he enjoyed a vacation in the country with his girlfriend, Kate Cassidy.

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Liam Payne is survived by his seven-year-old son, Bear, parents, and two sisters.