According to a report by CNN, Buenos Aires police had gone to the hotel where Payne was staying on Wednesday afternoon (October 16), after allegedly receiving a call about a man acting aggressive while possibly under the influence of drugs or alcohol.
mages from Payne’s hotel room has since gone viral online, showing it in disarray with what looks like glasses of alcohol, the apparent presence of drugs and damages such as a broken television.
An hour before this death, he had posted a video of himself on Snapchat. Days before that, he was spotted attending former bandmate, Niall Horan’s concert in Argentina on October 2 (Wednesday).
Multiple rumours surrounding Payne’s death have surfaced online, including how he had passed out from substances before acting aggressively and falling out of his hotel room’s balcony and how a hotel employee had sold drugs to Payne, which led to him having a psychotic break.
Entertainment news platform, TMZ, has also received major flak from international netizens for posting parts of images of Payne’s dead body, using his tattoos to confirm his identity, in their report on his death. Those images have since been removed from the article but screenshots can be seen on social media platforms.
The musical star first rose to fame after he was placed in the British boyband during his time on the U.K. version of The X Factor. When the group went on haitus in 2015, Payne successfully launched a solo career with his song, Strip That Down