LITTLE more than three months ago Liam Payne’s death sent shockwaves around the world.
The One Direction singer was just 31-years-old when he tragically fell from his hotel balcony in Buenos Aires.
Since then there has barely been 24-hours his name has been out of global headlines.
But on Thursday a new twist, and perhaps the most shocking of all, in the very sorry tale has come to light.
Liam’s friend and make-shift manager Roger Nores took the decision to sue Liam’s dad Geoff to the tune of $10 million – £8.1 million.
I’ve reported on Liam and his career for over a decade now – covering the highs and lows and everything in between.
Just a few weeks apart in age and no stranger a drink or two myself – on some levels, I could relate to Liam and have always been keen to champion him.
It also helped that every time we crossed paths he was nothing but a gentleman and clearly wanted to help you out and give you a story.
His death was one of the very few celebrity deaths that hit me and all too often I find it’s hard to shock me when it comes to this industry and the twists and turns it brings.
But even so, when I was first told of Roger’s decision as I browsed the aisles of my local Sainsbury’s I let out a very loud gasp.
My immediate thought was why on earth would Roger do that to a man who has just lost his son in the most horrific and public of ways?
My second thought was for poor Geoff – a humble mechanic from Wolverhampton – who has done nothing but try and get through the past few months in the most dignified of ways.
[bc_video account_id=”5067014667001″ application_id=”” aspect_ratio=”16:9″ autoplay=”” caption=”Five people charged over Liam Payne’s death including 1D star’s pal Roger Nores and hotel staff” embed=”in-page” experience_id=”” height=”100%” language_detection=”” max_height=”360px” max_width=”640px” min_width=”0px” mute=”” padding_top=”56%” picture_in_picture=”” player_id=”default” playlist_id=”” playsinline=”” sizing=”responsive” video_id=”6366543812112″ video_ids=”” width=”640px”]Within minutes of learning of his son’s death, Geoff was racing to Argentina and social media and went into meltdown and online publications started breaking the tragic news.
Upon arriving in the country he was swamped with paparazzi in sickening scenes reminiscent of the 90s media frenzies.
Geoff’s arrival at the Casa Sur Hotel was live streamed around the world – understandably he looked ashen faced and in shock as he was essentially dragged through a crowd of cameras and screaming fans.
It was one of the worst media scrums I’ve seen in years and would never have happened had Liam’s passing taken place on home soil.
I’m not ashamed to admit it caused me to well up.
All I could see was a grieving dad in his 60s, out of his depth halfway around the world, but steadfast in his mission to bring his son home one final time.
To their credit, devoted One Direction fans turned themselves into a human barricade to try and block images being taken of Geoff through the hotel windows.
I can’t even begin to imagine the emotions that man was going through – I’m sure most of it now seems like a blur.
Geoff remained in the country working around the clock with the authorities both in the investigation and to repatriate Liam.
[quote]Every time we crossed paths, Liam was nothing but a gentleman and clearly wanted to help you out [/quote]Slowly but surely Geoff, his wife Karen, and their family have begun picking up the pieces of their life and coming to terms with the “new normal” and life without Liam.
So how utterly gut wrenching must it be for them to have received a call from their lawyer informing them Roger – a man Geoff has met and worked with on a number of occasions – has launched a legal attack to the tune of £8.1 million.
Quite simply, has the family not been through enough?
Roger insists he was simply “a good friend” rather than manager to Liam, though I struggle to see how any “good friend” would proceed to sue the parents of their dead pal for even $1 let alone $10 million.
I obviously can’t speak for Liam, but I can safely say should any of my friends ever “pull a Roger” on my parents following a bizarre turn of events in my life, I would be quite literally turning in my grave.
The Argentinian businessman claims that Geoff has caused “irreparable damage” after making a series of claims to police during their investigation into Liam’s death.
For the sake of the family I won’t repeat Geoff’s sworn testimony as it was intended – as should any sworn police testimony – to be private.
However, in short, Geoff told the authorities he believed Liam was in Roger’s care.
In legal documents that have gone around the world, Roger brands Geoff’s comments ‘misleading, false and defamatory’.
He alleges the comments have helped form the backbone of the decision to charge him with manslaughter.
Grief can do funny things to people and maybe – hopefully – Roger will look back on his decision with regret.
But if he wants to be angry at someone then Roger should focus his efforts on the Buenos Aires City Police.
The authorities have been accused of leaking left, right and centre, from the moment Liam tragically passed away.
[quote]Quite simply, has the family not been through enough?[/quote]As expected, the Payne family are keeping a dignified silence and I’m told there will be no public comment on the latest developments.
It’s a stance they have taken throughout Liam’s career and since his death.
It’s the stance they took when an internal emails between Geoff and Roger found there way into US media a few weeks ago.
The same stance they took when Geoff was hounded during his trip to Argentina to bring his son home.
The same stance ahead of, during, and after Liam’s funeral in November as the world’s media gathered outside a tiny village church in Amersham.
The same stance they took when Liam’s friend and collaborator, US musician Sam Pounds, blindsided them by announcing he was going to release one of the tracks they had worked on together just days after Liam’s passing.
Sam later reversed his decision deciding to “leave those liberties up to all family members”.
The same can’t be said for Roger however.
In a decision as baffling as his legal attack on Liam’s family – Roger sat down for a filmed interview with American gossip site TMZ.
[quote]I can’t even begin to imagine the emotions Liam’s dad was going through[/quote]Speaking on their documentary TMZ Presents: Liam Payne: Who’s to Blame? – Roger insisted he did all he could to protect the star.
He then proceeded to tell the site a series of never before heard stories about Liam’s behaviour and health battles.
Back in November I told how Roger was not welcome at Liam’s funeral amid the ongoing investigation – after his legal bid, they must feel validated in their decision more than ever.
At the time told me: “It’s true he and Liam had a bond but he’s never been popular when it comes to Liam’s wider circle.
“There is a difference in the narrative, Roger would say he stepped back from working with Liam – others would say he was pushed.”
All too often we have seen families and former colleagues descend into legal madness following the death of a superstar.
Faced with knock after knock it must be taking Liam’s family all the will power in the world to keep quiet and hold their head high.
I hope for their sake Roger rethinks his ill thought out action.
