Cheryl Cole, mother of Liam Payne’s son, slams 'media exploitation' of singer's death
Cheryl Cole, the mother of Liam Payne's son Bear, spoke out on the singer's death and slammed the media for making "abhorrent reports" about him.
On her Instagram account, Cheryl posted a black and white picture of her former partner bonding with their baby as she talked about how his death has been an "indescribably painful time" for her.
"As I try to navigate this earth shattering event, and work through my own grief at this indescribably painful time, I'd like to kindly remind everyone that we have lost a human being," she began.
"Liam was not only a pop star and celebrity, he was a son, a brother, an uncle, a dear friend and a father to our seven-year-old son. A son that now has to face the reality of never seeing his father again," she continued.
She expressed concern over the time when Bear would be old enough to see reports circulating around his father's death.
"What is troubling my spirit the most is that one day Bear will have access to the abhorrent reports and media exploitation we have seen in the past two days. It is breaking my heart further that I cannot protect him from that in his future," the television personality lamented.
"I am begging you to consider what use some of these reports are serving, other than to cause further harm to everyone left behind picking up the pieces. Before you leave comments or make videos, ask yourself if you would like your own child or family to read them," she urged.
Cheryl asked the public to "give Liam the little dignity he has left in the wake of his death to rest in some peace at last."
Cheryl began dating Liam, whom she first met when he joined The X Factor, sometime in 2016. She gave birth to their son the following year, but the two of them eventually ended their relationship in 2018.
Authorities are still investigating the death of the former One Direction member, who fell to his death from his hotel window in Buenos Aires in Argentina on Oct. 16 (Oct. 17, Manila time).
Hours before his passing, Liam posted now-deleted videos as story entries on the messaging platform Snapchat with a text caption that read, "Lovely day in Argentina," followed by a red heart emoji.
Prosecutors called his death "suspicious," citing the likelihood of him drinking alcohol and taking drugs before he passed away.
They also confirmed that Liam was alone at the time of the incident. It's unclear whether his fall was intentional or accidental.