“People kind of own part of your grief….”

Liam Payne died after falling from a hotel balcony in Buenos Aires on Oct. 16, 2024. And, at the time, many fans’ thoughts went straight to Liam’s former One Direction bandmates: Louis Tomlinson, Niall Horan, Harry Styles, and Zayn Malik

On Oct. 17, the band issued a joint statement saying that they’d be taking some time to “process the loss” and that “when everyone is able to, there will be more to say.” And within a matter of hours, both Louis and Zayn had issued individual statements via Instagram. Harry’s tribute came next, followed by Niall’s on Oct. 18.

Of the four individual statements, Harry’s was the shortest. It read: “I am truly devastated by Liam’s passing. His greatest joy was making other people happy, and it was an honour to be alongside him as he did it.”

Liam lived wide open, with his heart on his sleeve, he had an energy for life that was infectious. He was warm, supportive, and incredibly loving. The years we spent together will forever remain among the most cherished years of my life. I will miss him always, my lovely friend,” Harry’s message read, concluding with a mention to Liam’s family, including his soon-to-be-9-year-old son, Bear.

Harry’s post in particular was heavily scrutinized at the time, and all four of the former 1D members had to face the public once again when they attended Liam’s funeral on Nov. 20, 2024.

Now, more than a year later, Harry has opened up about Liam’s death and the complicated emotions he’s experienced while grieving in front of the world.

“Full transparency… Even the idea of talking about it, I struggle with that,” Harry said when Zane Lowe mentioned Liam during a new Apple Music interview. “I think there was a period when he passed away where I really struggled with acknowledging how strange it is to have people kind of own part of your grief in a way.”

Speaking in more detail about the public scrutiny, Harry said: “I have such strong feelings around my friend passing away and then suddenly being aware that there’s maybe a desire from other people of you to convey that in some way, or it means you’re not feeling what you’re feeling or something, you know.”

Whether that was a reference to the response to his initial statement is open to interpretation. He went on to emphasize what a “super special person” Liam was and how he plans to honor his late bandmate going forward.

“It’s difficult to lose any friend, but it’s so difficult to lose a friend who is so like you in so many ways. I saw someone with the kindest heart, who just wanted to be great,” he said of Liam.

“It was a really important moment for me in terms of taking a look at my life and being able to say to myself like, ‘OK, what do I want to do with my life? How do I want to live my life?’ And I think the greatest way you can honor your friends who pass away is by living your life to the fullest.”

Online, people are reexamining the online norm of expecting fast statements from celebrities when their peers pass away, highlighting that “grief isn’t a performance.”