Justin Bieber has shared an Instagram tribute to the former One Direction singer Liam Payne, after the 31-year-old’s tragic death in Argentina.
Bieber shared a story on his Instagram page with clips of fans mourning Payne, who died on October 16 after falling from a hotel balcony. The short video included the caption “rest easy Liam,” along with a voiceover that affirmed to viewers that they are allowed to grieve the singer as fans.
“Just remember, you are allowed to grieve as a fan,” the voiceover reads. “You are allowed to love someone you’ve never met. You are allowed to admire someone for their art. You’re allowed to cry, to break, to feel like a part of you is gone.”
Bieber’s Instagram tribute was posted to the star’s 295 million followers, showing fans laying down flowers and cards at memorials for the singer. Payne’s death has sparked a number of similar tributes from the music industry, including Payne’s bandmate Zayn Malik.
Liam Payne and Justin Bieber’s music careers had many parallels, with both joining the music industry from a young age and attracting legions of similarly aged fans. Payne also previously opened up about his and Bieber’s online “beef,” after there was some controversy surrounding the One Direction star jokingly alluding to Bieber’s arrest in 2014.
On an episode of Logan Paul’s Impaulsive podcast, Payne revealed that he had spoken to Bieber and had squashed any animosity the pair may have had for one another. According to Payne, he told Bieber that the pair “suffer from the same disease” when it came to fame, but that he had his One Direction bandmates to lean on for strength while Bieber was a solo artist.
