Within 90 minutes of Liam Payne's fatal fall at a Buenos Aires hotel, gossip website TMZ published cropped images of his body, sparking outrage. The photos, which showed his distinctive tattoos, were taken down within hours, but copies spread across Facebook, Google and X.
On the second anniversary of his death, the Mirror can reveal that his family fought exhaustively to remove those images and other pictures of his final moments from circulation. They quietly enlisted the Argentinian courts to take on the social media giants hosting the images.
Court order and regulator involvement
In June 2025, Facebook and Google were hit by a court order banning the dissemination of any images. Argentina's communications regulator, ENACOM, comparable to Ofcom in the UK, was also contacted. The order included any potential leak of images from the police investigation.
A source said: “At the heart of the move was the desire to protect Liam’s son Bear from being confronted with such images when he was older. It was very much a sweeping clamp-down, which was very much welcomed. If you look online now, you are unable to see them, which is a huge relief.”
Precedent from Maradona case
The legal fight echoed one waged by Diego Maradona's daughters after disturbing photographs of the football legend's body spread online four years earlier. Funeral home employees had posed next to his open casket. His children Dalma, Gianinna and Jana applied to the court, which formally notified Facebook, Google and ENACOM.
A source said: “Like Bear, the court similarly took the view that the deceased’s children needed to be protected from mental torment. There was clearly a striking precedent when it then came to Liam’s case.”
Cheryl's role and family statements
Liam's former partner Cheryl, 43, is formally involved in the Argentine proceedings on Bear's behalf. Liam spoke of her devotion in 2022, saying: “She is the best mum in the world. I couldn't ask for someone better. He is all she cares about and I couldn't ask for more.”
The couple separated in 2018 but remained close, with Liam living minutes away. He died aged 31 on October 16, 2024, after falling from a third-floor balcony at the CasaSur Palermo hotel. Two days later, Cheryl appealed for an end to publication of distressing details, saying: “Liam was not only a pop star and celebrity, he was a son, a brother, an uncle, a dear friend and a father to our 7-year-old son.”
Legal aftermath and ongoing inquest
Authorities dropped manslaughter charges against friend Rogelio "Roger" Nores and two hotel staff members. Two other men face charges of supplying drugs to Payne on the night he died; a trial date has not been fixed. Toxicology tests found cocaine, alcohol and traces of a prescription antidepressant. A post-mortem concluded he died from multiple traumatic injuries and internal and external bleeding.
The British inquest remains unfinished. At a hearing in May, Buckinghamshire senior coroner Crispin Butler said he had received no further evidence from Argentina through the Foreign Office. Another hearing is scheduled for December 1. A source said: “There is no doubt that the family would very much like closure.”
