Robbie Williams condemned online trolls as he took to Instagram on Friday to pay tribute to former One Direction member Liam Payne.
The past few days have seen fans of the singer, celebrities and his former One Direction bandmates paying tribute to Liam online in the aftermath of his passing on Wednesday.
Liam passed away after falling from the third-floor balcony of a hotel in Buenos Aires, Argentina, with local investigators confirming that a series of substances were seized from the hotel room ‘indicating the previous situation of alcohol and drug consumption’.
Sharing a screenshot of an email between him and Liam from the summer of 2022, Robbie revealed that he sent a broken heart emoji to the email chain after hearing of his passing.
‘F*** yeah… go get it… very proud of you. Massive,’ Robbie wrote in response to a new song Liam shared with him.
Liam replied: ‘Thanks man that means the world I’m nervous as hell about it but I won’t back out you have my word. Wish me luck.’
The caption of Robbie’s emotional post saw him reflecting on meeting Liam and the rest of One Direction during their time on ITV singing competition The X Factor in 2010.‘How to make sense of the Liam Payne tragedy? Obviously, my first feelings towards his passing were like everyone else. Shock, sadness and confusion. And to be honest as I write these words that’s where I still am.
‘I met the boys on The X Factor and ‘’mentored’’ them. I use the word mentored in inverted brackets cos I hardly did anything to be honest. I just hung out with them. They were all cheeky and lovely. I enjoyed the light hearted p*** takery and thought about all the times I was that cheeky p***taker with the Popstars that had gone before me when I was in Take That.
‘Our paths have crossed ever since that day and I’m fond of them all. Liam’s trials and tribulations were very similar to mine, so it made sense to reach out and offer what I could. So I did,’ he wrote.
Going to share his thoughts on online etiquette that he believes is ‘worth repeating’, Robbie emphasised the importance of treating everyone with kindness on social media.
‘WE DON’T KNOW WHATS GOING ON IN PEOPLE’S LIVES. WHAT PAIN THEY’RE GOING THROUGH AND WHAT MAKES THEM BEHAVE IN THE WAY THAT THEY BEHAVE. BEFORE WE REACH TO JUDGEMENT, A BIT OF SLACK NEEDS TO BE GIVEN.
‘BEFORE YOU TYPE ANYTHING ON THE INTERNET, HAVE A THINK ‘’DO I REALLY NEED TO PUBLISH THIS?’’, BECAUSE THAT’S WHAT YOU’RE DOING. YOU’RE PUBLISHING YOUR THOUGHTS FOR ANYBODY TO READ. EVEN IF YOU DON’T REALLY THINK THAT CELEBRITIES OR THEIR FAMILIES EXIST. THEY F***ING DO. SKIN AND BONE AND IMMENSELY SENSITIVE,’ he said.
Robbie added: ‘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.
‘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. As individuals though we have the power to change ourselves. We can be kinder.
‘We can be more empathic. We can at least try to be more compassionate towards ourselves, our family, our friends, strangers in life and strangers on the internet. Even famous strangers need your compassion.’
Calling Liam a ‘handsome talented boy’, Robbie said that Liam’s death is a ‘tragic painful loss for his friends, family, fans and by the looks of the energy this moment has created the world’.
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