(17 Oct 2024)
RESTRICTION SUMMARY:
ASSOCIATED PRESS
Buenos Aires, Argentina – 17 October 2024
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1. SOUNDBITE (English) Isabel DeBre, Associated Press:
"We’re standing here in front of the hotel in Buenos Aires, the Argentine capital, where the body of Liam Payne, the ex-boyband star of One Direction, was found on Wednesday by Argentine police after they said he fell from the third story balcony of the hotel. Police who made the shocking discovery said that they were responding to a 911 call from the hotel that had reported a guest who was acting aggressively under the influence of drugs and alcohol. The details of this event remain incredibly murky as police are still investigating but what we do know is that his death has resonated around the world. Tributes have poured in from fellow celebrities and, of course, here in Buenos Aires all of last night fans were coming from across the city with bouquets of flowers, candles, they were singing his songs, and as you can see, they’re still coming here today to pay tribute to the star they loved so much."
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STORYLINE:
Former One Direction singer Liam Payne, 31, whose chart-topping British boy band generated a global following of swooning fans, was found dead Wednesday after falling from a hotel balcony in Buenos Aires, local officials said.
Buenos Aires police said in a statement that Payne fell from the third floor of the Casa Sur Hotel in the trendy Palermo neighborhood of Argentina’s capital, resulting in “extremely serious injuries.”
Medics confirmed his death on the spot, the statement said.
The police statement to The Associated Press said Payne “had jumped from the balcony of his room.”
Police rushed to the hotel in response to an emergency call just after 5 p.m. local time warning of an “aggressive man who could be under the influence of drugs or alcohol,” the statement added.
Alberto Crescenti, head of the state emergency medical system, told Argentina’s Todo Noticias TV channel that authorities were investigating the circumstances of his death and conducting an autopsy.
Payne had been vocal about struggling with alcoholism, posting a video in July 2023 to his YouTube channel where he said he had been sober for six months after receiving treatment. Representatives for Payne did not immediately return emails and calls.
Dozens of One Direction fans flocked from across Buenos Aires to the Casa Sur Hotel after the news broke, forming lines that spilled into the cordoned-off street outside the hotel where police stood sentinel.
Forensic investigators were seen exiting the hotel, from where Payne’s body was removed around three hours after the fall.
Young women filming with their cellphones expressed shock and heartbreak as a makeshift memorial with rows of candles and bouquets quickly grew outside the hotel.
Payne was one of five members of One Direction, which formed when they each auditioned for the British singing competition series “The X Factor” in 2010, two years after Payne’s first attempt to get on the show.
At 16 the second time around, Payne sang Michael Bublé’s version of “Cry Me a River,” appearing nervous at the start but warming up with the audience’s cheers and applause.
After each singer failed to make it through the competition as solo acts, Simon Cowell and his fellow judges combined Payne, Zayn Malik, Harry Styles, Niall Horan and Louis Tomlinson into what would become one of the most successful boy bands — even though they lost the competition.
Payne was previously engaged to Maya Henry, from August 2020 to early 2022.
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