Toni Cornell, the 20-year-old daughter of musician Chris Cornell, took to Instagram Stories to criticize the online tabloid TMZ over their reporting of former One Direction member Liam Payne’s death.
Toni wrote a lengthy message, saying she felt compelled to say something after TMZ published photos of Payne’s body after he fell 40 feet from the third-floor balcony of the Buenos Aires hotel room where he had been staying. Many called out the news outlet for the callous and thoughtless reporting of Payne’s passing, saying it was “gross” and “sick” that TMZ chose to publish such graphic images during a sensitive time.
Although TMZ removed the photos from the article after the backlash, they did not immediately apologize or address the issue. Instead, they amended the article and added, “TMZ has seen a photo showing Liam’s body on the deck at the hotel with tables and chairs nearby.” A day later, TMZ executive producer Michael Babcock appeared on Fox 5 New York and attempted to justify the decision to post the photos, saying that it was done to confirm the deceased’s identity. Babcock said the photo “didn’t show his face — but that showed his arm and his abdomen, where he has some very recognizable 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.” He added the photos were pulled from the article after the body was confirmed to be Payne.
Fans, however, weren’t having it. They said it wasn’t TMZ’s job to confirm the identity of the deceased. Others pointed out that Babcock never even apologized in his statement.
Toni Cornell feels for Liam Payne’s son Bear
Toni was one of the people who saw the photos before they were taken down, and it struck a chord with her. As she mentioned in her post, TMZ also posted photos of his father’s death scene, which she came across and was “indescribably traumatizing” for her as a 12-year-old girl. “TMZ still has not chosen to have the decency, seven years later, to remove those photos from the internet, and it is something I believe should be done,” Toni wrote.
Chris Cornell was in Detroit with his band Soundgarden when he passed away in May 2017 at 52 years old. A friend checked on him in his hotel room and found him on the bathroom floor. He was pronounced dead at the scene, and the medical examiner ruled that he died by suicide.
Toni continued to say that despite having taken down Payne’s death photos, the damage had already been done. “They should never have been put up in the first place,” she added. Furthermore, Toni said that it breaks her heart to know that someday, Payne’s 7-year-old son may come across those photos and experience the same suffering she endured when she saw her father’s death scene photos.
“It is still shocking to me that the privacy of human beings and their families fail to be respected by the public and the media, especially in times of human loss, choosing sensationalism over basic human decency.”
Cheryl Cole, Payne’s ex-partner and Bear’s mother, shared the same sentiment amid reports of Payne’s passing. Cole shared a photo of Liam with Bear as a baby, accompanied by a statement. After expressing her grief, Cole wrote “that one day Bear will have access to the abhorrent reports and media exploitation we have seen. Please give Liam the little dignity he has left in the wake of his death to rest in some peace at last”, sentiments we can only echo.