Canadian singer-songwriter Alessia Cara took to X to call out TMZ for publishing an article that included pictures of Payne’s lifeless body while reporting on the death of One Direction member Liam Payne.
“You’re gross,” she wrote on X.
According to a police statement, Payne was reported dead on Wednesday after falling from the third floor of a hotel balcony in Buenos Aires, Argentina.
The article that TMZ posted on their website announcing the death of the former boy band member included a picture collage captioned “Liam’s tattoos,” which shows two pictures of the deceased’s tattooed arm and part of his abdomen.
“TMZ has seen a photo showing Liam’s body on the deck at the hotel with tables and chairs nearby.
“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,” the article reads.
TMZ is an entertainment news website that is notorious for breaking celebrity news to the public.
Netizens are also calling out the showbiz website and agreeing with Cara, claiming that the decision to post a picture of Payne’s body shortly after he was pronounced dead is “disgusting.”
@flowzki commented: “TMZ just did something more disgusting than I even thought they were capable of, and the bar was already in hell.”
TMZ just did something more disgusting than I even thought they were capable of and the bar was already in hell
— Adémola (@flowzki) October 16, 2024
And @angellnoellxo commented: “Absolutely disgusting, and there’s no going back from it. It breaks my heart.”
Absolutely disgusting.
— 𝕏![CDATA[]]>𝓪![CDATA[]]>𝓷![CDATA[]]>𝓰![CDATA[]]>𝓮![CDATA[]]>𝓵 𝕏 (@angellnoellxo) October 17, 2024
And there’s no going back from it. It breaks my heart 😞
Meanwhile, @holte commented: “Absolutely sickening, opportunistic, and without any care for the consequences for his friends, family, and fans. All for a few clicks.”
insanely gross and disrespectful.
The tabloid organisation has since removed the picture from their website after backlash from the public.
IOL