It is October 16, 2024. The world is reeling as Liam Payne—former member of boyband One Direction—has fallen to his death in a drug-fuelled bender at the CasaSur Palermo Hotel in Buenos Aires, Argentina. Investigations follow, three are arrested, and a legion of fangirls gather in an expression of grief and hurt that has not been seen since the hastily-forgotten days of #CutForLiam. Yet, as superfans gather in swarms for emotional vigils around the world (“It’s like I’ve lost someone from my family”), there is one question that echoes across the globe: how could his ex-fiancé let this tragedy happen?
Liam Payne and Maya Henry were first spotted together back in 2015, when the model and social media influencer attended a One Direction meet-and-greet. Soon after, the twenty-six-year-old Payne began a turbulent relationship with Henry, aged just eighteen, with the two becoming engaged in 2020 before breaking things off just eight months later. At this point, public details around their relationship become hazy. In June 2021, Payne appeared on the podcast The Diary of a CEO in which he spoke of the relationship, admitting “I keep on hurting people”. Elaborating further on his personal struggles with mental health and addiction, the One Direction star stated, “I just need to work on myself before I put myself on somebody else”.
Yet, by October 14, 2024, two days prior to the events in Buenos Aires, Payne was once again linked to Maya Henry. Reports had surfaced online that Payne, in spite of his relationship with Kate Cassidy, had allegedly been “obsessively contacting” Henry, her friends, and even her mother. In an attempt to stop the purported harassment, she filed a cease and desist against Payne after describing her ex-fiancé’s stalking behaviour on her TikTok account. “It’s always from different phone numbers too, so I never know where it’s gonna come from,” she told fans. “He’ll create new iCloud accounts to message me… he’ll blow up my mom’s [sic] phone.” Appearing on the podcast The Internet Is Dead, Henry shared how Payne would threaten his death if she did not help him, with a friend of Payne’s reportedly calling her with a threat of his own: that the whole world would blame Henry if anything happened to Payne after she released Looking Forward, a book in which she fictionalises her abusive and traumatic relationship with the pop star. These were, unfortunately, not the only revelations to be overshadowed by later events. Henry also talked of the real-life abortion she had narrativised in her novel, claiming Payne had not only pressured her into having an abortion, but had also discouraged her from going to hospital when she subsequently experienced complications.
These accounts of Liam Payne’s threats, control, and intimidation are devastating. And on October 16, with no girlfriend present to risk her safety to save him, Payne plunged forty-five feet to his death under the influence of a cocktail of lethal drugs.
The tone towards Maya Henry—and Looking Forward—very quickly shifted. Whilst the book had always been controversial amongst die-hard One Direction fans, many impartial viewers and Henry’s own fanbase had jumped to her defence at the time. However, within minutes of Payne’s death, Henry’s social media was flooded with hate comments. “ITS [sic] ALL YOUR FAULT”, one Instagram comment attacks, now with over 23,000 likes. Droves of these disgusting, victim-blaming comments were posted in their hundreds before Henry turned off the ability to comment on her account altogether.
And Payne’s fans did not stop there. On another thread, one user likens Henry’s aforementioned interview with The Internet Is Dead— in which she bravely spoke out about Payne’s alleged abuse—to “the same as a friend gossiping [sic] your life to others”. “She sounds smug, patronising and insensitive airing his mental health issues for the whole world to hear,” another person continues. Over on Goodreads, a website designed to connect book readers and critique literary content, negative reviews poured in for Looking Forward. “Will never even read this… Maya if you’re reading this, this is not the way to go about in an abusive relationship.” 1 star. “You want me to believe that a woman with a father worth over 1 billion was forced into ending her pregnancy?” 1 star. “This book caused a death, all because a clout chaser and narcissist wanted attention.” Liam Payne’s fanbase have gone so far as to create a Change.org petition, urging retailer Amazon to remove Looking Forward from their platform.
It is no wonder, then, that Maya Henry has since entirely disappeared from public life. And while millions grieve the image of a man they never knew, I want to take the time to highlight what I consider the legitimate tragedy that occurred this October: the very real vilification of Henry.
The response to Henry is not only a scathing indictment of “stan culture”, which glorifies fervent, blind parasocial relationships with complete strangers, but of a broader culture which upholds women to an impossible moral standard and crucifies them for speaking out against men’s violence. This situation, where a man dies due to drugs after years of public addiction struggles, should be clear-cut. So why are we blaming his ex-partner he purportedly abused years ago? How is Henry, at eight years Payne’s junior, being condemned for not acting as his selfless angel?
This culture of zero accountability has served powerful men for far too long. In November, a man with at least eighteen allegations of sexual misconduct against women was re-elected President of one of the most influential countries in the world. We are taught that allegations of abuse ruin men’s lives, while women who come out with legitimate testimony are ripped apart by the public and their abusers are showered in appreciation. We are taught to keep relationship problems private, so an estimated three women per week die by suicide in the United Kingdom as a result of domestic abuse. We are taught women are hysterical, contradistinct to rational men, whilst men are charged with nearly ninety percent of violent crimes. We are taught to clutch our keys between our fingers at night, to beware of the strange man in the dark, while most women murdered by men are killed by somebody they knew, cared about, even loved. Maya Henry, regardless of her wealth or status, is no exception to these attitudes. In a world that seeks to subjugate women, she will always be viewed, first and foremost, as a woman. It is long past enough.
Endorsing Payne as a figurehead of mental health is at the very least ill-advised, and, at worst, tells viewers that it is okay to abuse others if you suffer from a mental health problem. Yet, a popular men’s charity took to Instagram to express their “grief, confusion, and heartache” after Payne’s passing, citing his “talent, warmth, and energy.” Popular culture and those complicit are doing a remarkable job at covering up any controversy surrounding Liam Payne’s life, and with it, they are further marginalising survivors of abuse across the globe. The mainstream media have drowned out any and all criticism of his character, such as an “emotional” tribute at the MTV Europe Music Awards on November 10 and a plethora of articles covering celebrations of his life. The very few online outlets which do touch on Maya Henry’s allegations are tactfully worded. People, with whom Henry had shared her account of struggles with Payne, chose the rather blame-shifting headline “Liam Payne Was ‘Extremely Overwhelmed’ by Legal Issues with Ex Maya Henry Before His Death at 31”. Even the most sympathetic of headlines offer a diluted take, casting Henry’s allegations as part of a “complex relationship”.
I am sick and tired of the narrative that Liam Payne’s death is a hero’s fall from grace. If women cannot live in peace, then abusers shall find no rest. Payne’s death should serve only to demonstrate that Maya Henry’s story holds crucial weight within a culture of abhorrent misogyny. Henry is now living an unimaginable nightmare where her alleged abuse not only did not stop once she escaped her abuser, but actively worsened. The fear she faces is no longer confined to her home; it will follow her everywhere she goes, through the mouthpieces of millions of strangers. On top of that, the treatment of her case within the media further sends a dangerous message to victims of abuse and to women as a whole.
So, reflecting on a month since he died, no amount of guilt tripping, victim blaming, nor transparent attempts to evoke sympathy will bring a single tear to my eye for Liam Payne. Men’s emotional regulation is categorically not a problem for women to fix. We must do better to support women who come forward with reports of domestic violence.
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