Sharon Osbourne has hit out at the music industry for “letting down” Liam Payne, who has died aged 31.
The One Direction star’s friends and millions of fans are already paying tribute to the singer, who police say fell from a third-floor hotel balcony. He is survived by his parents, his two older sisters, and his seven-year-old son, Bear.
Payne’s family said in a statement: “We are heartbroken. Liam will forever live in our hearts and we’ll remember him for his kind, funny and brave soul. We are supporting each other the best we can as a family and ask for privacy and space at this awful time.”
While several of Payne’s fellow X Factor contestants have addressed the sudden pressures of fame in their tributes to the singer, Osbourne – a former judge on the show where One Direction was formed – has now waded in, declaring: “We all let you down.”
Osbourne, who said her “heart aches” over the news of Payne’s death, was a judge on The X Factor’s early series from 2004 to 2007, but was no longer a part of the show when Payne was put into One Direction by Simon Cowell and guest judge Nicole Scherzinger. She returned for one series in 2013.
Follow live updates and tributes following the death of Liam Payne here.
She wrote: “Liam, my heart aches. We all let you down. Where was this industry when you needed them? You were just a kid when you entered one of the toughest industries in the world. Who was in your corner? Rest in peace my friend.”
While Osbourne did not conflate her comment with Payne’s participation on the ITV reality show, she has been vocal about her negative views on the series.
She said: “I got to meet some incredible people – Louis [Walsh] is still like my brother, Nicole [Scherzinger] and Gary Barlow – amazing people. But as far as talent shows go, and I’ve been away from it for a while, it was kind of like the Wild West.
“You didn’t really know the importance and what it does to people’s lives and as far as I’m concerned, the whole thing needs to be changed.”
She continued: “As well as giving people, a lot of people, opportunities with their careers it can also damage a lot of people too. You have to be very, very careful. you’re handling people’s lives, you’ve got their future in your hands and it’s not anything to laugh at.
“I wouldn’t want that responsibility again, there’s damage out there and I wouldn’t want to be a part of that. I don’t regret it, I learnt a lot about the responsibility of doing a show like that, and it was a great education.”