On Thursday, Oct. 16, singer-songwriter Liam Payne died after falling from the third-floor balcony of his CasaSur Palermo hotel room in Buenos Aires, Argentina. He was under the influence of drugs and alcohol at the time.

Payne was an English-born, singer-songwriter well known for being one of the five members of the British-Irish boy band One Direction. Formed in 2010, One Direction became an instant global sensation after the five members – Payne, Harry Styles, Niall Horan, Zayn Malik and Louis Tomlinson – were brought together on the show “X-Factor UK.” 

Payne was just 14 when he auditioned for the show and 16 when he joined the band.

One Direction disbanded in 2016, with each member beginning a solo career in music. Continuously backed by his loyal One Direction fan base, Payne had a successful solo career going on to release several popular singles such as “Strip That Down” and “Bedroom.”

Payne had traveled to Buenos Aires to support his former bandmate Horan at his concert two weeks before his death. Fans of Payne quickly flocked to the hotel and mourned his death, and have now formed vigils worldwide.

When I first heard of Payne’s death, though I was initially surprised, a sense of déjà vu soon fell over me. Within my lifetime, there have been multiple celebrity deaths caused by substance abuse, strung to the much larger issue of poor mental health. Johnathan Brandis, Brittney Murphy, Corey Haim and Amy Winehouse all come to mind. 

One prominent factor each of these celebrities had in common was when they began to rise to fame and enter the harsh ecosystem of stardom, they were young. 

Though being a celebrity comes with greater access to opportunities such as financial freedom and a legacy, a part of me still feels bad for those who were put into the fame pipeline at such a young age. 

The head of reception at the CasaSur Palermo hotel reportedly called 911 about “a guest who is overindulged in drugs and alcohol and… is breaking the whole room.”

When police entered Payne’s hotel room, they found a smashed TV, drug paraphernalia and alcohol. According to ABC, at the time of Payne’s death, substances such as “pink cocaine” – a mixture of ketamine, MDMA and methamphetamine, among others – crack and benzodiazepine were found in his bloodstream.

I find that the times I see young celebrities in the news the most is during their prime and again once they have died. It saddens me that Payne had to endure a death as tragic and early as this. 

Key factors found to be attributed to adolescents and their drive to use substances are feelings of shame, impulsivity and self-esteem issues. 

In a study done by the National Library of Medicine, “The development of shame is dependent on individual possessing sufficient cognitive capacity, having an awareness of social rules and expectations…” 

Young people, especially those under unrealistic expectations of stardom, are not only subject to low self-esteem but also interpersonal relationships that can shroud their perceptions of people around them. 

While substance abuse and mental health issues do not take hold on every child star, a large majority of them have succumbed to the effects over the many years of strenuous social pressure.

Along with the already exhausting demands put on child celebrities also comes their exploitation. Often, children entering the field come with no prior experience with the industry, and neither do their parents. With the overall lack of knowledge, the child star can be treated unfairly without realizing it. Child stars tend to have little to no control over their brand. 

All I can hope for is that within the ever-growing industry of Hollywood, mental health is taken more seriously as celebrities embark on their fame journey, especially for children. 

It is only natural that child stars will grow to become intrigued by drugs and alcohol as the industry they are in is enveloped in addiction. I just wish that their interest in substances was more heavily monitored as they get older as to me it always ends up getting out of hand.  

In the case of Liam Payne, his death was directly caused by the effects of mental health issues and substance abuse, a fate that is too often bore upon child stars and will stick with my generation forever. 

My thoughts go out to Payne’s family and friends at this time as well as his entire fanbase, as he made a lasting impact on each of them.