Liam Payne's ex-partner Cheryl Tweedy has described the media coverage of his death as “abhorrent”.
It came as the singer's father, Geoff Payne, traveled to Buenos Aires, Argentina, to organize the repatriation of his 31-year-old son's body. He was seen leaving the CasaSur Palermo resort, where the singer died on Wednesday after falling from a third-floor balcony.
In a video shared on the BBC, Payne was seen visiting tributes left by fans outside the resort, reading letters and lingering around flowers, photographs and candles.
It came after former Ladies Aloud singer Tweedy expressed concern about protecting her seven-year-old son Bear and criticized the “media exploitation” since the star's death.
In an Instagram post, he said: “As I try to navigate this momentous event and work through my own grief at this indescribably painful time, I would like to remind everyone that we have lost a human being.
“Liam was not only a pop star and a celebrity, he was a son, a brother, an uncle, a dear friend and a father to our 7-year-old son.
“A son who now has to face the reality of never seeing his father again. What worries my spirit most is that one day Bear will have access to the abhorrent reporting and media exploitation we have seen over the past two days. It breaks my heart even more not to be able to protect him from that in his future.”
The publication was made alongside a black and white photograph of Payne, with whom she had a relationship between 2016 and 2018, and her son.
Cheryl added: “I beg you to consider what some of these reports serve, other than causing further harm to all those left behind picking up the pieces.
“Before leaving comments or making videos, ask yourself if you would like your own child or family to read them. Please give Liam what little dignity he has left after his death so that he can finally rest in peace.”
His statement came after Payne's girlfriend, Kate Cassidy, said she was “completely lost” following his death. “Nothing that happened in the last few days has seemed current to me,” he said in a post on his own Instagram story.
“Liam, my angel, you are everything. I want you to know that I loved you unconditionally and completely. I will continue to love you for the rest of my life. I love you Liam.”
Meanwhile, music mogul Simon Cowell said he was “really devastated” following the singer's death, adding that he also felt “heartbroken” and “empty.” “Every tear I have shed is a memory of you,” she wrote in a statement on Instagram.
Payne found fame alongside Niall Horan, Louis Tomlinson, Zayn Malik and Harry Kinds when The X Issue creator Cowell brought them together to form One Route on the ITV talent show in 2010.
A joint statement from the band said they were “completely devastated” and would miss the singer “terribly,” adding that “the memories we shared with him will be treasured forever.”
Payne died of multiple traumas and “internal and external hemorrhages,” according to a publish mortem report. Argentina's National Criminal and Correctional Prosecutor's Office No. 16 said it was investigating the incident as an “inconclusive death” following the report.