Chris Cornell's daughter Toni hits out at "disgusting" TMZ coverage of Liam Payne's death

Toni Cornell attends the 64th Annual GRAMMY Awards at MGM Grand Garden Arena on April 03, 2022 in Las Vegas, Nevada. — (Image credit: Photo by Jeff Kravitz/FilmMagic)

Chris Cornell's daughter Toni has described news coverage of former One Direction member Liam Payne's death as "disgusting" and "sensationalist".

Payne, 31, died this week after falling from the balcony of a hotel room in Buenos Aires, Argentina.

Toni says news site TMZ's decision to publish photos of Payne's hotel room and his body was "distressing" and that it took her back to when her father died in 2017 and TMZ published photos of his body.

In a statement posted via an Instagram story, Toni Cornell says: "In the wake of Liam Payne's tragic passing, I feel compelled to speak out about the disgusting, distressing photos released by TMZ including graphic images of his hotel room and body.

"Having seen those photos, I can't help but reflect on my own experience when graphic images of my father's death were also published by TMZ.

"As a 12-year-old, I stumbled upon those pictures while scrolling through my iPad, and it was indescribably traumatizing, and something I still carry with me to this day. TMZ still has not chosen to have the decency, seven years later, to remove those photos from the internet, and it is something I believe should be done.

"While the images of Liam have since been taken down, it means nothing. They should never have been put up in the first place, and it breaks my heart to think that his 7-year-old son, Bear, might one day come across them and suffer exactly as I did.

"It is still shocking to me that the privacy of human beings and their families fail to be respected by the public and the media, especially in times of human loss, choosing sensationalism over basic human decency. This isn't how an artist or a father should be remembered.

"I'm sending so much love and support to Liam's family and loved ones during this incredibly painful time. Rest in peace, Liam".

Former Soundgarden and Audioslave frontman Chris Cornell died while on tour in Detroit in May, 2017. His death was ruled as a suicide. He was 52.

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Stef wrote close to 5,000 stories during his time as assistant online news editor and later as online news editor between 2014-2016. An accomplished reporter and journalist, Stef has written extensively for a number of UK newspapers and also played bass with UK rock favourites Logan. His favourite bands are Pixies and Clap Your Hands Say Yeah. Stef left the world of rock'n'roll news behind when he moved to his beloved Canada in 2016, but he started on his next 5000 stories in 2022.