One Direction has spoken out for the first time since bandmate Liam Payne’s sudden death Wednesday.
“We’re completely devastated by the news of Liam’s passing.” Harry Styles, Niall Horan, Zayn Malik, and Louis Tomlinson shared via a statement posted on their Instagram.
The group continued, saying that they would share more “in time” but that they were taking “some time to grieve and process the loss of our brother, who we loved dearly.”
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“The memories we shared with him will be treasured forever,” they continued. “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 boy band formed in 2010 after competing on The X Factor and has been on a hiatus since 2016. The joint statement comes less than a day after Payne fell to his death from a balcony in a Buenos Aires hotel.
In his own post on Instagram, Tomlinson paid tribute to Payne, calling him a “brother.” He goes on to say the 31-year-old was “the most vital part of One Direction.”
“I would have loved to share the stage with you again but it wasn’t to be,” he added.
Malik also shared a snap of the two on his page with a heartfelt personal statement.
“Liam, I have found myself talking out loud to you, hoping you can hear me, I can’t help but think selfishly that there was so many more conversations for us to have in our lives,” he writes.
Malik said that Payne was “headstrong, opinionated, and gave no f–ks about telling people when they were wrong," admitting the instances where they “butted heads” made him respect his bandmate.
Harry Styles, meanwhile, wrote on Instagram: “I am truly devastated by Liam’s passing. His greatest joy was making other people happy, and it was an honour to be alongside him as he did it.
“Liam lived wide open, with his heart on his sleeve, he had an energy for life that was infectious. He was warm, supportive, and incredibly loving. The years we spent together will forever remain among the most cherished years of my life. I will miss him always, my lovely friend.”
The National Criminal and Correctional Prosecutor’s Office said Thursday that the 31-year-old passed from injuries including “internal and external” hemorrhages, People reported. While much is still unknown about the tragedy, authorities say he “jumped from the balcony.”
