One Direction Breaks Silence on Liam Payne's Death in Joint Statement

One Direction has spoken out following the death of former band member Liam Payne.

“We’re completely devastated by the news of Liam’s passing. In time, and when everyone is able to, there will be more to say,” the remaining members — Zayn Malik, Louis Tomlinson, Niall Horan and Harry Styles — said in a joint statement on Thursday, October 17. “But for now, we will take some time to grieve and process the loss of our brother, who we loved dearly. 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.”

The statement was signed, “Louis, Zayn, Niall and Harry.”

Payne died at age 31 on Wednesday, October 16. Us Weekly confirmed that the singer fell from a third floor hotel balcony in Buenos Aires.

One Direction was together from 2010 to 2015, releasing four albums as a fivesome. In March 2025, Malik, now 31, announced his departure from the group. The remaining four members of One Direction released one more album prior to their indefinite hiatus in December 2015.

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Following their time as a group, all five members went on to pursue solo endeavors. Payne has spoken candidly about his continued friendship with the other members, including Styles, 31.

In June 2021, Payne revealed that he and Styles had recently spoken on the phone.

“I did speak to Harry, and it was really lovely,” Payne said when answering fan questions on Instagram Live at the time. “He called me because he has a sixth sense for if I’m struggling or if one of us is in trouble, I feel like.”

The “Strip That Down” singer added: “I spoke to him, and it was a really lovely catch up actually. And I’ve got a lot of love for the man. He’s great, he’s really, really great.”

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As he continued his Instagram Live, Payne also offered fans an update about his relationship with all of the One Direction members.

“I think we’ve all felt this at different times, me and the boys,” he said. “It’s almost like missing a very dear friend a lot of the time. But everyone’s so busy and you’ve got to be understanding of all that.”

Payne also shared a sweet message of congratulations for Styles after the “As It Was” singer took home multiple Grammy Awards in 2023.

“Wow … this image is really something to wake up to and when you write music like you do Harry you deserve every millisecond of that moment looking down smiling at the trophy you’ve earned,” Payne captioned an Instagram post in February 2023. “God bless you brother congratulations.”