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TMZ is coming under fire over its coverage of Liam Payne‘s death, which included alleged photos of his deceased body.
After the outlet reported on the One Direction alum’s passing Wednesday, friends and fans of Payne called out the site over the since-removed photos that purported to confirm his death via detailed close-ups of his tattoos.
Alessia Cara, who previously performed with Payne and Zedd, called out TMZ on X. “You’re gross @TMZ,” she wrote, seemingly in reference to the photos.
Although TMZ has not addressed the backlash, the photos have since been removed from the article. “TMZ has seen a photo showing Liam’s body on the deck at the hotel with tables and chairs nearby,” the language now reads. “You can clearly see his tattoos — a clock on his left forearm, and a scorpion on his abdomen — which helped us confirm early reports from witnesses.”
Many readers still saw the images before they were taken down, with some voicing their disapproval on social media. “TMZ you’re sick,” writer Ira Madison posted on X.
“TMZ posting part of a photo of Liam Payne’s dead body in an article announcing his death is beyond deplorable,” another person wrote. “I can’t tell if I’m losing my mind lately or if society has always been this overtly morally decrepit.”
One fan said TMZ should be “deplatformed,” urging paparazzi to leave his exes and daughter alone. “Leave Maya Henry alone. None of this is on her. His tragic death does not make her trauma any less real,” they wrote. “Any pap who sells a photo of that 8 year old grieving child and/or his mother, Cheryl Cole, in the next 10 days, should be arrested.”
Payne died at age 31 on Wednesday when he fell from the third-floor balcony of his Buenos Aires, Argentina hotel room. La Nación reported that Hotel Casa Sur staff called police before the incident to report “an aggressive man that could’ve been under the influence of drugs or alcohol.”
