Liam Payne‘s sudden and tragic death on Oct. 16 in Buenos Aires, Argentina, is a where-were-you-when moment for the generation who grew up loving Payne’s former band, One Direction. Among them is singer Halsey, who has now shared a moving Payne tribute in a Tumblr post.
In her post, Halsey, 30, said she grew up loving One Direction with an “all-consuming force.” She added, “It hurts deeply to mourn someone you were a massive fan of as [a] teenager and became a peer of as an adult.” Halsey’s message then said she purchased a home from Payne a few years ago that was rumored to be haunted. “He assured me it was not,” Halsey’s message continued, “and I believed him. Because I know the ghosts that haunt us aren’t tethered to buildings. They live in parts of us that are harder to reach and they go wherever we do.”
Halsey’s post concluded, “As a parent, a fellow artist, and a fan, i simply cannot fathom this untimely loss. my heart goes out to his family, friends, and the fans.”
Payne’s “haunted” mansion
Halsey bought Payne’s “haunted” home in Malibu in 2021. According to The Sun, in 2017, Payne lived there with his ex, Cheryl, from GirlsAloud while Cheryl was pregnant with their son, Bear, who is now 7. Payne said someone told Cheryl’s mother there was a ghost living there. “Her mum went out somewhere with my housekeeper, and this woman came up to them and went, ‘You’ve got a ghost in your house,'” Payne explained. “She said, ‘It’s a man. He wears an army shirt and cargo pants,’ which is what the guy used to go around in — and this woman was just some random woman off the street.”
Payne was told the man’s name was Alan, and he filmed the helicopter shots in Jurassic Park. With that news, “Cheryl wouldn’t stay in the top room, being pregnant with the baby,” Payne told The Sun. He added, “I’ve seen lights go on and off in the middle of the night and a few little creepy things, like taps turning on and off. If you don’t believe in it, I don’t think it can get to you.” According to Halsey, Payne told them something different when he sold them for about $10 million three years later.
Argentinian authorities have confirmed Payne, 31, jumped from a third-floor window at a Buenos Aires hotel and sustained head injuries as well as internal and external hemorrhaging. Drug paraphernalia and a damaged TV were discovered in Payne’s room. Police were called to the scene because a man, presumably Payne, was acting aggressively and possibly under the influence of drugs and alcohol. Payne was in the country to see his former One Direction bandmate Niall Horan perform in Buenos Aires.
As news of Payne’s death spread, musician Charlie Puth shared a picture of himself with Payne, captioned, “Just tell me this is a prank.” According to Rolling Stone, Puth wrote in an Instagram story, “I am in shock right now, Liam was always so kind to me. He was one of the first major artists I got to work with. I cannot believe he is gone. I am so upset right now, may he rest in peace.” Meanwhile, Oasis’ Liam Gallagher posted on X, “Life is precious kids and you only get to do it ONCE go easy LG x.” When asked in the comments if he’d heard about Payne’s death, Gallagher responded, “I have it’s very sad.”