Zayn Malik posts touching tribute to Liam Payne: ‘I loved and respected you dearly’
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Zayn Malik is honoring former One Direction band member Liam Payne with an emotional tribute following the singer’s untimely death.
A day after medical officials confirmed to Telemundo that Payne, 31, died after falling from the third floor of a hotel in Argentina, Malik paid his respects to Payne in a moving post on Instagram.
Malik, who departed One Direction in March 2015, uploaded a throwback picture that showed him and Payne taking a nap while riding in a car together. Payne had his arm wrapped around Malik, who rested his head on Payne’s lap.
The second slide of the post included a sweet message to Payne. “Liam, I have found myself talking out loud to you, hoping you can hear me, I can’t help but think selfishly that there was so many more conversations for us to have in our lives,” Malik began. “I never got to thank you for supporting me through some of the most difficult times in my life.”
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He reflected on being in the band as a teenager and leaning on Payne when he was homesick.
Malik wrote that he could count on Payne to “always be there with a positive outlook and reassuring smile and let me know you were my friend and that I was loved.”
He continued to recall the memories they shared together, noting that sometimes the two did not get along.
“Even though you were younger than me you were always more sensible than me, you were headstrong, opinionated, and gave no f—s about telling people when they were wrong. Even though we butted heads because of this a few times,” Malik said and included a crying-laughing emoji. “I always secretly respected you for it.”
In 2022, Payne made headlines for comments about his complicated relationship with Malik on Logan Paul’s “Impaulsive” podcast, where he said there were “many reasons” he didn’t like Malik. He lated apologized for his remarks on X.
Malik praised Payne for his talent and said that he was “the most qualified in every sense.”
The singer said, “I knew nothing in comparison, I was a novice child with no experience and you were already a professional. I was always happy to know, no matter what happened on stage we could always rely on you to know which was to steer the ship next.”
Although all five members of One Direction auditioned on the UK competition series “The X Factor” in 2010, Payne was the only member who had previously tried out for the show, making the young teenager one of the more experienced.
At the end of his statement, Malik referred to Payne as his “brother” and said he was mourning his death.
“I lost a brother when you left us and can’t explain to you what I’d give to just give you a hug one last time and say goodbye to you properly and tell you that I loved and respected you dearly. I will cherish all the memories I have with you in my heart forever, there is no words that justify or explain how I feel right now other than beyond devastated,” he said. “I hope that wherever you are right now you are good and are at peace and know how loved you are.”
He signed the post with, “Love you bro,” which he also wrote in the caption.
Malik’s statement came shortly after fellow band member Louis Tomlinson penned a heartfelt tribute.
In addition, Tomlinson, Malik, Harry Styles and Niall Horan released a joint statement on Instagram, as well, writing that they were all “completely devastated” about Payne’s death and would “miss him terribly.
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