Harry Styles Opened Up About the Struggle of Grieving in Public After Liam Payne’s Death

In 2024, Harry Styles’ former One Direction bandmate, Liam Payne, died suddenly. The band released a statement and reunited at his funeral. Styles admitted it was difficult to feel like people were waiting for a reaction from him. He didn’t like feeling as though people were scrutinizing his reaction to the death of a friend.

The former One Direction member died in 2024

In 2024, Payne died after falling from the balcony of his hotel room in Argentina. Per Deadline, hotel staff called the police with reports of “an aggressive man that could’ve been under the influence of drugs or alcohol.” 

“We were alerted about a person who was in an internal courtyard of Casa Sur Hotel,” said the head of the state emergency medical system, Alberto Crescenti. “[First responders] arrived and confirmed the man’s death. We later learned that he was a singer in a musical group. Unfortunately, he had injuries incompatible with life as a result of his fall, so we had to confirm his death. There was no possibility of resuscitation.”

He reportedly had traces of alcohol, cocaine, and antidepressants in his system at the time.

Harry Styles spoke about grieving Liam Payne

While Styles and other former members of One Direction released a statement after Payne’s death, they didn’t speak much about it. Styles recently admitted that he found it strange to feel that people were waiting for his response.

“I struggle with that a little bit even,” he told Variety. “I think there was a period when he passed away where I really struggled with kind of like acknowledging how strange it is to have people kind of like own part of your grief in a way.”

He said it complicated his already difficult feelings about Payne’s death.

“I have such strong feelings around my friend passing away,” he said. “And then suddenly being, you know, like aware of there’s maybe like a desire from other people of you to convey that in some way, or it means you’re not feeling what you’re feeling or something, you know?”

Harry Styles shared how he tries to honor Liam Payne’s memory

Styles said he saw himself in Payne. They spent years working together and navigating fame while in One Direction.

“It’s so difficult to lose a friend,” he said. “It’s difficult to lose any friend, but it’s so difficult to lose a friend who is so like you in so many ways.”

He said Payne’s death made him reevaluate the way he wants to live his own life.

“It’s like, I saw someone with the kindest heart who just wanted to be great. It was a really important moment for me in terms of taking a look at my life and being able to say to myself, ‘OK, what do I want to do with my life? How do I want to live my life?’ And I think the greatest way you can honor your friends who pass away is by living your life to the fullest. Like super special person and really sad.”