TMZ has drawn outrage for publishing cropped photos of Liam Payne’s body taken after the One Direction singer fell to his death from the roof of a hotel in Buenos Aires, Argentina.
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The photos showed portions of Payne’s arm and waist, which were covered in identifying tattoos. “TMZ obtained a photo showing Liam’s body on a wooden deck at the hotel with tables and chairs nearby,” the story read. “We’re not showing the whole body, but you can clearly see his tattoo — a clock on his left forearm, and a scorpion on his abdomen.”
The outlet also ran a photo of the police tent erected later over Payne’s body to shield it from photographers and prying eyes.
The decision to run the photos drew fierce condemnation on social media. Rylan Clark, a BBC presenter and TV personality, wrote , “TMZ fucking shame on you. Disgrace,” on X. Singer Alessia Carra wrote , “You’re gross @TMZ.” The sentiments were echoed across the social media platform by horrified fans still in shock from news of Payne’s death.
TMZ and its founder Harvey Levin did not immediately respond to request for comment. But the site appeared to second-guess the decision. The photos later disappeared from the post, with the copy changed to read, “TMZ has seen a photo showing Liam’s body.”
Though TMZ is known to push journalistic ethical boundaries in obtaining its traffic-friendly scoops, the publishing of celebrity death photos is a line that even it does not typically cross.
Its last significant celebrity death controversy came with its reporting of the 2020 helicopter crash that took the life of Kobe Bryant and his 13-year-old daughter Gianna, in addition to seven others.
TMZ was first to report on the tragedy, breaking the story less than two hours after the crash. Law enforcement criticized TMZ for reporting on the accident before the coroner’s office could confirm the identities of the victims and inform the families. Levin later claimed that TMZ had gotten approval from “Kobe’s people” to run the story.
“We were told very clearly that she had been notified,” Levin said, referring to Bryant’s widow, Vanessa. (She went on to file a lawsuit against the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department, which was settled for $29 million in 2023, over photos taken at the site of the accident.)
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The publishing of celebrity death photos remains an extremely rare occurrence in mainstream media, but does have precedent. In 1994, the Seattle Times ran a photo of Kurt Cobain’s body after the Nirvana frontman’s suicide.
After a huge outcry, the newspaper published an op-ed defending the decision.
“The Times seldom publishes pictures with dead bodies, so it isn’t surprising that many readers were deeply offended when they saw our front-page photo the day after the 27-year-old musician was found dead in his Madrona home. The picture, taken through a window, shows Cobain’s right leg and right forearm and hand. A police officer is kneeling beside the body, taking notes. A cigar box and some personal effects are on the floor, next to the body,” the newspaper wrote.
“Although no blood is visible, the picture invites the imagination to lean in, look around the corner and see the full horror of what Cobain had done to himself with a shotgun. Without being gory, the photo is gripping. To many readers it is also tasteless, intrusive, insensitive and gratuitous tabloid journalism,” it continued. The paper ran a sampling of the angry letters it had received about the editorial decision in the same edition.
Because Princess Diana’s fatal car wreck in 1997 was the result of fleeing paparazzi, photos of the scene were particularly sensitive and an unofficial media blackout was immediately put in place.
But photos eventually did surface in 2004, when CBS’ 48 Hours aired images of Diana, crouched on the rear floor of her limousine with no visible injuries.
Buckingham Palace, Prime Minister Tony Blair and Diana’s brother all condemned the action. CBS defended the decision, saying the photos were shared as part of “an examination of the medical treatment given to Princess Diana just after the crash.”
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