Perrie Edwards breaks silence on Liam Payne: 'People in the industry aren't looked after'

Little Mix star, Perrie Edwards, has spoken about the heavy price of fame after Liam Payne tragically died on October 16 when he fell from the third floor of his hotel suite

Perrie Edwards has broken her silence on Liam Payne after his tragic death in Argentina.

The One Direction star left his legion of loyal fans bereft when he fell from the third floor of his hotel suite in Buenos Aires two weeks ago, aged 31.

Perrie, 31, who, like Liam found fame on the X Factor, dated the singer's bandmate, Zayn Malik. She has also spoken openly about her own struggles with anxiety, with Liam's battle with mental health well-documented. Now, the Little Mix star has opened up about the singer's tragic death, saying the music industry needs to do more to protect its young talent.

Speaking on the Happy Place podcast with Ferne Cotton, the mum-of-one admitted there was a heavy price to fame, saying: "I think it's really important to look at people as humans and think why did they get to this place? Why are they struggling so much?"

She continued: "I don't think there's enough consequences for people online. I don't think people in this industry are looked after enough. They're put on pedestal, they get brought up and they're like this god or amazing person and then everybody jumps on this bandwagon of like: 'Yeah! Let's tear them down and it's like a fun thing to do. But it's not fun. These people are human. What do we do to change it? Can we make rules with social media?"

Calling the online trolling "so savage", Perrie said she "doesn't look at it" while pointing out there was a fine line between free speech and "bullying".

Following the tragic news of Liam's death, the singer's ex, Cheryl, hit out at the "abhorrent" reports by gossip sites. Liam's fans also blasted TMZ, which shared distressing images of his body after his death. The One Direction star died instantly after his fall on October 16, with a police report stating his catastrophic injuries were "incompatible with life".

Shortly after heartbreaking news, the American gossip site published images of Liam after he fell, claiming that they made the decision in order to identify the Wolverhampton-born star, before the police confirmed his identity. Fans were furious for the intrusion, however, despite the criticism, TMZ executive producer Michael Babcock said there "was balance".

Speaking on Fox 5 New York, Babcock said: "There's a balance, and that's obviously a conversation that newsrooms across the world have – you want to be sensitive to the family and to the friends and also while working a news story.

"When the information was coming in, police had not yet confirmed that it was Liam, so what was done on the TMZ website, there was an image – did not show the full image, didn't show his face – but that showed his arm and his abdomen, where he has some very recognisable tattoos, so that's sort of used as a way to confirm, or to match up the tattoos at a point where police had not yet confirmed his identity. And then, once they did, obviously, that photo was removed."

He added: "I mean, it's just a terribly horrific and sad story. It's something obviously that shouldn't have happened, and this guy had so much life left to live and you feel horrible for everybody."

*If you are struggling with mental health, you can speak to a trained advisor from Mind mental health charity on 0300 123 3393 or email info@mind.org.uk

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