It was just days before his death that Maya Henry unknowingly shared an eerie prediction about Liam Payne.
In October 2024, the American actress, 23, took legal action against the late One Direction star after accusing him of persistently contacting her following their break-up in 2022.
Then shortly after, Maya heartbreakingly revealed in an interview: ‘Even until my book was coming out, even one of his friends was calling me and my mum and being like, “This isn’t a good time for him, I don’t think you should put the book out, he’s not doing well and even if something happens to him, not only are you going to blame yourself but the whole world’s going to blame you.”
‘And so I was like, just the fact that they keep trying is such a low manipulation tactic. It’s disturbing.’
It is disturbing because, in a shocking turn of events, Maya is so cruelly being blamed for Payne’s death. The What Makes You Beautiful singer fell from a hotel balcony in Argentina on October 16 after reportedly exhibiting ‘erratic’ behaviour. He was just 31 years old.
Many have pointed out the timing as it came just days after Maya went public with her allegations, however, that does not justify the horrific level of vitriol she has been subjected to since.
The negativity against Maya has only been exacerbated this month following her first interview since Payne’s death, where she discusses the identity crisis he reportedly faced and substance use.
X user @smthngboutuu previously shared a screenshot of some of the most concerning tweets blaming her for Payne’s death and it makes for harrowing reading.
‘You [sic] lowkey evil,’ one user appears to have written.
‘This is your fault,’ another claimed, while one X user even dared to question: ‘Now he is dead – are you happy?’
It’s messages like this that really show the viciousness that lurks within the deep dark depths of the internet.
Very few details have been confirmed about the incident in these early stages of the investigation and, even when we do have the full picture, how could anyone possibly pin what happened to Payne on one person?
Five people have been charged in relation to Payne’s death in Argentina but the case is still ongoing.
With this in mind, it’s unfair and irresponsible to pin what happened on Maya.
She had every right to come forward with her allegations against Payne and allow the legal process to work without fear of repercussions – to suggest she had any blame for it is the type of victim-blaming we should long be past by now. It sends the wrong and frankly dangerous message to survivors of abuse that they should silence themselves to protect their accusers.
We didn’t get to hear Payne’s side of the story and, sadly, now never will.
But quite simply, it’s not a black-and-white situation and it feels as though, in this day and age of social media, the nuance has disappeared into oblivion. So much of the fallout from his death has been tasteless; from photos of his body being shared online, and now the rhetoric against Maya.
Even with her accusations about Liam, she still has the right to mourn, having spent a portion of her life with him, if she feels so inclined. Naturally, she may have conflicting emotions about Payne’s death and she deserves the space to come to terms with this.
Right now she’s on the receiving end of an unjustified pile-on and it feels very uncomfortable as her mental health should be protected at a time like this, too.
Some have even compared the situation to the aftermath of Mac Miller’s death where his ex-fiancee Ariana Grande was inexplicably blamed for his demise following a drug overdose. Bearing in mind, Miller’s death occurred months after their split. It falls into very icky territory to link two separate situations together and arrive at a concrete conclusion, particularly when these people are known to have struggled with various personal issues.
Women often find themselves blamed for the actions of men and, while we wait to find out how and why Payne died, it’s seriously damaging to drag Maya into the tragic circumstances.
It’s not her fault.
This article was originally published on October 17, 2024.
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