Hollywood sells dreams, which often leads to devastation. Behind the charm is a brutal world that bites young stars, leaving them broken and vulnerable.
Looking out, Hollywood seems like a world of endless opportunities. Fame, good fortune, and success are the rewards of hard work and talent.
But the truth is that it is much darker and deeper than that.
This is the industry that creates our idols and you can easily destroy them with a snap of your finger.
The pressure to maintain a toxic culture of perfection, privacy invasion and exploitation are all part of this.
Sometimes, when Liam Payne auditioned for the X Factor in 2008 and was eventually sent home, was it a sign from the universe protecting him from the darkness of fame that predates him?
Well, if that was a sign, it wasn’t wrong, maybe not soon, but the point is still standing.
After his set-off he felt like he was part of one way. He was worshipped by billions (still is). His face was painted onto his clothes, shoes and lunch box. The band got movies, world tours and more.
It seemed like the ultimate dream. But behind the smiles and a sold-out show, he slowly lost himself for the happiness of his fans.
If he is not on stage in the studio, he will be locked up in a hotel room with a minibar, according to an interview. In his youth, he fell into the battle with alcoholism because he felt it was the only choice he had the freedom to make.
Fame drove him to fear his life.
In the early days of one-way, Payne admits in an interview, but he “didn’t really like me” and was filled with “liquor and pills” and “a moment of suicidal ideation.”
I strongly believe this will lead to his tragic death last year when he fell from the balcony on the third floor of a hotel in Buenos Aires, Argentina.
Surveillance footage clearly shows Liam being affected, and when hotel staff intervened, he told staff he didn’t want to stay in the room, warning him he would use the balcony to escape if he was trapped.
Instead of finding another way to help him, a master key was used and he was transported into the hotel room. Another employee called 911 and raised concerns that he was about to escape, but it was too late.
I truly believed he got a flashback to being helpless in his hotel room as a teenager, so he tried to escape using the balcony (as he was found holding a bag around his shoulder), and he fell into his death.
If management didn’t lock him up every night and were afraid of a hotel room, would this have happened a few years later?
No one knows or will not do, but in my opinion there is no doubt in my mind that it played a role.
The entertainment industry is known for putting profits ahead of people. In many cases, artists are treated as products rather than humans.
If the people around him really had taken the time to take care of his mental health, would this tragedy be hampered if they paused and realized humans behind the stars?
This is a question that Hollywood needs to answer before biting the next young star.
