Bear — whom Payne shared with ex Cheryl Cole — “is trying to process emotions which no 7-year-old should have to experience,” the family said in a statement.

Following a tribute at the Brit Awards last night (1 March), Liam Payne’s family have criticised the media over its coverage of his death. The singer died at the age of 31 on 16 October 2024 after falling from the third-floor balcony of the Casa Sur Hotel in Buenos Aires, Argentina.

Payne died aged 31 after falling from a balcony at the CasaSur Palermo Hotel in Buenos Aires, the capital of Argentina. Police authorities have dropped manslaughter charges against one of his friends, Rogelio Nores, but two other men continue to face charges of supplying drugs to the singer on the evening of his death.

In a statement released on Sunday morning, the family said that persistent "attention and speculation" in the press had exacerbated their suffering, and that of Payne's young son, Bear, in particular.

"Liam's death was an unspeakable tragedy," his family wrote in a joint statement released on 2 March and reported by the BBC. “This is a time of tremendous grief and pain for those who knew and loved him.