Thousands sign petition to protect artists' wellbeing after Liam Payne death

The 31-year-old died suddenly after falling 40 feet from his balcony

Author: Rory GannonPublished 26th Oct 2024

A petition to protect the mental health of those working in the entertainment industry has reached 120,000 signatures.

The petition was created in the wake of the death of Liam Payne, who sadly died at the age of 31.

Singer Liam fell to his death last Wednesday (October 16th) while he had been staying at the CasaSur hotel in Buenos Aires.

Liam, who had shot to fame as part of One Direction, had battled a number of mental health issues - including alcohol dependency, agoraphobia and depression.

Several of Liam's co-stars from The X Factor have now come forward calling on the government to better protect those who work in the entertainment industry.

Among those who have spoken out include X Factor star Katie Waissel, as well as former Take That singer Robbie Williams, who have said that better care and support is needed.

The petition seeks to "implore lawmakers to create legislation safeguarding the mental health of artists within the industry".

Branding the legislation as "Liam's Law", the proposed bill would require "regular mental health check-ups, adequate rest periods and the presence of mental health professionals on-set, including any ongoing support during their career".

Payne first came into the public eye in 2008, when he auditioned for The X Factor, aged just 14.

He would return to the competition two years later, where he would be selected to form part of One Direction - together with other soloists Zayn Malik, Harry Styles, Niall Horan and Louis Tomlinson.

A post-mortem following his death revealed that Payne has suffered "multiple traumas" as a result of the fall, resulting in "internal and external" bleeding.

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