A tweet from a woman about Liam Payne allegedly “jumping off his balcony” went viral shortly before the confirmation of the English singer’s death. Payne, who rose to fame as a member of One Direction, passed away on Wednesday after falling from the balcony of his hotel in Buenos Aires, Argentina. The singer was 31 years old.
The woman, using the handle “Sorry Charlie” on X (formerly Twitter), shared that a friend staying in the same hotel as Payne in Argentina had informed her of the incident. Her tweet quickly gained widespread attention as it was posted just before official news of Payne’s death started circulating online.
Although her post spread quickly, the woman did not confirm Payne’s death in her tweet. Instead, she clarified that she was merely passing along what her friend had told her and did not verify the information.
In her post on X, the woman wrote, “Mutual friend is in Argentina at the same hotel as Liam Payne and she said he just jumped off his balcony????? There are ambulances everywhere and things are nuts. I sincerely hope he’s okay if this actually happened. Holy smokes dude!!!! [sic].”
Mutual friend is in Argentina at the same hotel as Liam Payne and she said he just jumped off his balcony????? There are ambulances everywhere and things are nuts. I sincerely hope he’s okay if this actually happened. Holy smokes dude!!!!
— Sorry Charlie™️ (@NsbSo) October 16, 2024
The tweet exploded on social media, amassing nearly 25 million views. Many compared it to the famous “Abbottabad helicopter tweet” that went viral in 2011 when the death of Osama bin Laden was unknowingly tweeted in real-time. Social media users pointed out that the tweet came an hour before TMZ officially reported Payne’s death.
— Sorry Charlie™️ (@NsbSo) October 16, 2024
Following the attention her tweet received, the woman shared screenshots of her conversation with her friend in Argentina, further detailing the situation.
However, she faced backlash from fans of Liam Payne, who felt her post was inappropriate and insensitive. In response to the criticism, she defended her actions, stating, “I don’t think it’s that insane of me to tweet about something crazy my friend told me. I didn’t think it was anything this big, I assumed it was a mistake or something and that he was okay!”
She continued, explaining her surprise at how far her tweet had spread: “I didn’t think it would leave my circle. I tweeted, left for an hour or so, and came back to the news of him passing away and the tweet had blown up. Apologies to those who feel I was insensitive, it wasn’t my intention!”
Despite the controversy, the tweet remains a significant part of the online conversation surrounding Liam Payne’s tragic death.
