TMZ Is Getting Dragged Online For Posting Pictures Of One Direction Singer Liam Payne's Body Mere Minutes After His Death

Celebrity news tabloid TMZ is facing massive backlash online for posting photos of former One Direction member Liam Payne's body less than an hour after the singer reportedly fell to his death from the roof of a hotel in Buenos Aires, Argentina.

The photos showed close-up and cropped parts of Payne's tattooed arm and waist, with TMZ using the images to confirm the singer's death. The byline read, "TMZ obtained a photo showing Liam’s body on a wooden deck at the hotel with tables and chairs nearby."

"We’re not showing the whole body," the article continued, "but you can clearly see his tattoo — a clock on his left forearm, and a scorpion on his abdomen." The publication also shared an image of a tent that local police erected over the late singer's body outside the Casa Sur Hotel.

Several prominent journalists strongly criticized TMZ for deciding to publish the photos, while Singer Alessia Carra tweeted, "You're gross @TMZ."

This isn't the first time that the celebrity news tabloid has toed the boundaries of journalistic ethics, with late basketball star Kobe Bryant's wife suing the publication after it published the news of his death before the coroner was able to notify his family about his passing.

Other internet users took a less serious approach to criticizing TMZ, with X user @lexishaye_ using a photo of Jake Gyllenhaal's creepy newspaper photographer persona in Nightcrawler to call out the news site.

Meanwhile, X user @zylocarp posted a clip from The Substance to write, "tmz with liam payne’s body as soon as it hit the pavement."

tmz with liam payne’s body as soon as it hit the pavement pic.twitter.com/2zlrSPg0jS

— stephen 🍉 (@zylocarp) October 17, 2024

TMZ and its founder Harvey Levin have not directly responded to the controversy, however, the site later edited the article to remove the offending photos, instead leaving behind a note that read, "TMZ has seen a photo showing Liam's body."

Tens of Argentinian One Direction fans assembled at the scene of Payne's death in Buenos Aires's Palermo neighborhood soon after news of his death broke, many speaking to the press in tears.

An impromptu memorial of candles and flowers began to expand on the pavement outside the hotel. "I didn't think he was going to die so young," 21-year-old Isabella Milesi told the Associated Press.