“We all let you down,” says Sharon Osborne

Liam Payne was let down by the music industry, Sharon Osbourne said in an emotional tribute to the former One Direction star.

On Instagram, Osbourne wrote that Payne was “just a kid” when he “entered one of the toughest industries in the world.”

“We've all let you down,” the TV personality and former X Factor judge added alongside a black and white photo of Payne.

Osbourne is the latest to add her voice Honors pouring in from all over the world after the 31-year-old singer fell to his death in Buenos Aires on Wednesday evening.

“Liam, my heart hurts. We have all failed you. “Where was this industry when you needed it?” Osbourne wrote.

“You were just a kid when you entered one of the toughest industries in the world. Who was in your corner? Rest in peace, my friend,” she said.

Payne rose to fame as a teenager when he first appeared on X Factor in 2008 at the age of 14.

He returned to the show two years later when judge Simon Cowell created One Direction by pairing Payne with Zayn Malik, Louis Tomlinson, Niall Horan and Harry Styles.

While the group came third on X Factor this year, they became one of the most successful boy bands of all time, selling around 70 million records since their formation in 2010. In 2016 the band took a “break”.

In a 2019 BBC interview, he reflected on his meteoric risePayne said he was “very confused about fame when this all happened.”

In the same interview, he spoke about his “erratic behavior” at the time of the band's breakup. “I partied too much,” he said.

After One Direction's astronomical success, Payne found it harder to maintain his solo career.

In 2023, the singer had to cancel his solo tour after being hospitalized with a heart attack “severe kidney infection”.

Osbourne isn't the only one taking aim at the music industry following Payne's death.

Boyzone's Mikey Graham called on record companies to take seriously their “duty of care towards the vulnerability of their young talent.”

He wrote on X: “Celebrity can be very damaging, especially in today’s world. Lot of money. No one who can help.”

And Katie Waissel, who appeared alongside One Direction on X Factor in 2010, did it She has long advocated for better support for those appearing on television.

She spoke to the BBC last year about the “obscene pressure” she faced as a contestant on the show.