Fans are applauding Carson’s words about how to process the loss of Liam Payne: ‘For today … we mourn’
Carson Daly has brought some perspective to the loss of former One Direction member Liam Payne as questions swirl around his death at a hotel in Argentina.
Payne, 31, died on Oct. 16 after falling three stories from a hotel balcony in Buenos Aires, according to a news release from the Argentina National Prosecutor’s Office. Police were “directed to the hotel by a 911 call reporting an aggressive man who could be under the influence of drugs or alcohol,” the statement from Sistema de Atencio Medica de Emergencia, which was shared with Telemundo after Payne’s death, read in part. But authorities found there was no conclusive information about Payne’s cause of death.
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Payne, who was open about his history of addiction prior to his death, was believed to be alone at the time of his fall and “going through some kind of breakdown as a result of substance abuse,” according to the news release.
Carson, who has interviewed One Direction many times over the years, focused on the human aspect of the loss of Payne, who was a father to a 7-year-old boy, rather than the circumstances surrounding his death.
“I think, right now, there are a lot of questions and a lot of people want the answers, especially people who consume media, as to how did this happen, why did this happen?” he said on TODAY on Oct. 18. “But I think we’re in that very fragile period where family, friends and fans need to just process the loss of a 31-year-old guy who was a father, and grieve.
“And they’ll be time for all of the reports and all the things, but for today, I think we just — we mourn.”
Payne shared a son, Bear, with singer Cheryl Cole.
His former One Direction bandmates each issued tributes mourning his loss.
Niall Horan called him “the brightest in every room,” while Harry Styles said he “will miss him always.” Zayn Malik shared how he “loved and respected” Payne, and Louis Tomlinson wrote that he “will be the Uncle” that Bear needs.
Payne’s death remains under investigation, with authorities interviewing multiple witnesses, including three hotel workers.
An autopsy report found that there was no sign he braced for impact when he fell and that “he could have fallen in a state of semi or total unconsciousness,” according to the prosecutor’s office.
