I was in the UK around the time he died. At first I wasn’t familiar with who he was. Then I heard he was a member of One Direction (“oh, he was just a boy band himbo?!”). Then I learned he died through his own over-indulgences and foolishness (“he got hopped up to his eyeballs and fell out a window?!”). And at that point the news coverage made no sense.
Based on the reports and articles, you’d have thought he was some amazing philanthropist and genius musician who only brought joy and enlightenment to the human race. But no, nothing like that. Just another somewhat talented entitled rich boy riding on the backs of better people.
It’s the same rose-tinted bullshit we see time after time. Just look at this article from right after Jimmy Saville died - and before his decades of rapping and abusing children made it into the public realm (although it was a very poorly-kept secret even back then).
Now to be clear, I’m not comparing Payne to Saville in their deeds. Payne seems more like a vapid passive user who drifted down life on easy street. Saville was a disgusting monster. But it goes to show how myopic the media can be when faced with the death of a celebrity.
I was in the UK around the time he died. At first I wasn’t familiar with who he was. Then I heard he was a member of One Direction (“oh, he was just a boy band himbo?!”). Then I learned he died through his own over-indulgences and foolishness (“he got hopped up to his eyeballs and fell out a window?!”). And at that point the news coverage made no sense.
Based on the reports and articles, you’d have thought he was some amazing philanthropist and genius musician who only brought joy and enlightenment to the human race. But no, nothing like that. Just another somewhat talented entitled rich boy riding on the backs of better people.
It’s the same rose-tinted bullshit we see time after time. Just look at this article from right after Jimmy Saville died - and before his decades of rapping and abusing children made it into the public realm (although it was a very poorly-kept secret even back then).
Now to be clear, I’m not comparing Payne to Saville in their deeds. Payne seems more like a vapid passive user who drifted down life on easy street. Saville was a disgusting monster. But it goes to show how myopic the media can be when faced with the death of a celebrity.