Victoria Canal on the “lethality of the internet” and Liam Payne: “Just days before his death, Liam was relentlessly torn apart online for dancing at Niall Horan’s show”

Victoria Canal has opened up about the tragic death of Liam Payne and has expressed her concern on the “lethality of the internet” following his passing.

READ MORE:  Liam Payne 1993-2024: One Direction star who helped spark a pop phenomenon

The former One Direction singer died at the age of 31 after falling from a third-floor balcony at the CasaSur Palermo Hotel in Buenos Aires, Argentina on Wednesday (October 16). As per The Guardian, the Argentinian prosecutor’s office revealed that Payne’s cause of death was due to multiple traumas and internal and external bleeding – his head injuries were serious enough to cause death.

Canal took to her official Instagram account to pay tribute to the ‘Little Things’ singer and shared a lengthy statement on how prior to his death, Payne was mocked and hated on online and how she “feels duped by the promise of what ‘success’ is” in the industry.

“If Liam Payne’s unexpected early death hit you as hard as it did me, you’re probably thinking about what it says about the state of our society and mental health in this industry. You’ve probably heard the details of the 911 emergency call, seen the pictures of the trashed hotel room, read the condolences,” began her statement.

She continued: “Just days before his death, Liam was relentlessly torn apart online for a seemingly douchey display of ego, dancing at Niall Horan’s show in Argentina. Anonymously, millions of people online mocked him as being over-confident, out-of-touch, arrogant. This is a person who, at age 14, was contractually obligated to fulfil an all too rigorous promo and touring schedule, was way too famous to function normally, and was driven into alcohol and feel any semblance of relief.”

The musician was referring to Horan’s show at the Movistar Arena in Buenos Aries, which the ‘Strip That Down’ singer attended. While sitting in a VIP box, Payne began dancing to the ‘Macarena’ and encouraging fans to cheer him on.

People took to social media to address Payne’s actions at his former bandmate’s headlining show, calling his actions “painful” with others claiming that he was trying to  “relieve the glory days”.

Canal went on to explain that she was so affected by Payne’s passing and the situation he was in because “even after achieving everything an artist could possibly hope for, and having the financial stability one could only dream of, this young man died alone in the hands of addiction, thinking the entire world hated him.”

She added that she, as an artist who feels “desperate” to achieve the success that Payne once had, feels duped by “the promise of what ‘success’ in this industry is.”

“The truth is, the more eyes that are on you, the more authority people believe to have over their anonymous cruelty and opinions over you,” she wrote, adding that as an artist, she has come to the realisation that “success in music should not, cannot, be my ‘reason’, my purpose.”

Liam Payne performs at Hits Radio Live 2019 at Manchester Arena on November 17, 2019 in Manchester, England. (Photo by Carla Speight/Getty Images for Bauer Media)

She concluded her statement by saying that it has become clear to her how important the people who are closest to you are, stressing the importance of “truly finding value in yourself outside of your art, outside of your product, your streams, your brand, your bank account etc. Now more than ever I feel this desperate desire to connect to the artists around me and say, you are not alone, I am not alone. We are not alone.”

The former NME Cover star is the latest to comment on Payne’s struggles and the issues between mental health and the music industry. Robbie Williams recently shared a tribute to the late singer as well and encouraged people to be more “careful” about the comments they make towards those in the public eye.

The ‘Angels’ singer went on to say “I still had my demons at 31. I relapsed. I was in pain. I was in pain because I relapsed. I relapsed because of a multitude of painful reasons. I remember Heath Ledger passing and thinking ‘I’m next’. By the grace of god and/or dumb luck I’m still here.

Zayn Malik, Harry Styles, Liam Payne, Louis Tomlinson and Niall Horan of one Direction sign their new book ‘One Direction: Forever Young: Our Official X-Factor Story’ at HMV on March 7, 2011 in Manchester, England. (Photo by Shirlaine Forrest/WireImage)

“The internet will unfortunately carry on being the internet. The media will unfortunately carry on being the media and fame will carry on being fame.”

Sharon Osbourne also went on to accuse the music industry of “letting down” Payne, writing in an Instagram post: “Liam, my heart aches. We all let you down. Where was this industry when you needed them? You were just a kid when you entered one of the toughest industries in the world. Who was in your corner? Rest in peace my friend”

Osbourne’s tribute to Payne follows comments from Katie Waissel, who competed alongside One Direction on the talent show, calling for more “care and support for young artists”. Similarly, Rebecca Ferguson, who finished in second place on the same season of the show, paid tribute to Payne while also speaking out against the “exploitation and profiteering of young stars.”

The X Factor, which ended in 2018, also shared a message on social media, writing, “He was immensely talented and, as part of One Direction, Liam will leave a lasting legacy on the music industry and fans around the world.”

Yesterday (October 17), One Direction’s surviving members Zayn Malik, Niall Horan, Louis Tomlinson and Harry Styles shared a joint statement on Payne’s death, where they expressed their devastation, and that they would need time “to grieve and process the loss of our brother, who we loved dearly.”

Styles, Tomlinson and Malik also shared their own individual statements, with Styles writing: I am truly devastated by Liam’s passing. His greatest joy was making other people happy, and it was an honour to be alongside him as he did it.”

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