Toni Cornell feels for Liam Payne’s son Bear Grey Payne.
The 20-year-old—whose father, musician Chris Cornell, died by suicide in 2017—slammed the fact that photos of the One Direction member’s body following his fatal Oct. 16 were published, expressing her concern for the impact they could someday have on Liam’s 7-year-old son with ex Cheryl Cole.
“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,” Toni wrote on her Instagram Story, per NME. “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.”
She continued, “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.”
And while she noted the images of Liam’s body have since been removed, Toni—whose mom is Vicky Karayiannis—felt it didn’t make a difference.
“They should never have been put up in the first place,” she noted. “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 a sentiment shared by Liam’s ex, Cheryl, who spoke out against some of the reports shared about the father of her child in the wake of his tragic death.
"As I try to navigate this earth shattering event," the Girls Aloud singer began her Oct. 18 message, "and work through my own grief at this indescribably painful time, I'd like to kindly remind everyone that we have lost a human being."
"Liam was not only a pop star and celebrity, he was a son, a brother, an uncle, a dear friend and a father to our 7 year old son," she continued. "A son that now has to face the reality of never seeing his father again. What is troubling my spirit the most is that one day Bear will have access to the abhorrent reports and media exploitation we have seen in the past two days. It is breaking my heart further that I cannot protect him from that in his future."
The 41-year-old asked that those writing, commenting and speaking on Liam’s death pay mind to what they’re accomplishing.
"I am begging you to consider what use some of these reports are serving," she wrote, "other than to cause further harm to everyone left behind picking up the pieces. Before you leave comments or make videos, ask yourself if you would like your own child or family to read them."
She added of her former partner, who had struggled with addiction and mental health challenges amid his fame, "Please give Liam the little dignity he has left in the wake of his death to rest in some peace at last."
For more on Cheryl and Liam’s time together, keep reading.
2008: The First Meeting
The story of Liam Payne and Cheryl Cole's romance began when he was just 14 and auditioning for what he'd call "one of the biggest music shows in the world." While his stab at solo stardom ended when he was cut during The X Factor's Judges' Houses round, the moment was certainly the start of something beautiful.
"Let's address the elephant in the room," he cracked when revisiting the experience for Esquire's "I Hate Watching Myself" series in 2020, "the future mother of my son is sat in that chair."
Though he and the 10-years-his-senior Girls Aloud musician (who dubbed him "really cute" following his performance) wouldn't kick off their romance for nearly a decade, he joked of the audition, "This is now an episode of How I Met Your Mother, so that's enough of that I think."
2010: Heading in a New Direction
When Payne returned to The X Factor stage at age 16, his version of Michael Bublé's "Cry Me a River" impressed Simon Cowell, who delivered a standing ovation, and Cole. "You've definitely got it," she declared. "Whatever it is, you got it."
Though it was not enough to propel him past the boot camp stage, judge Nicole Scherzinger floated the idea of pairing Payne with fellow auditioners Harry Styles, Niall Horan, Zayn Malik and Louis Tomlinson.
"They're just too talented to get rid of," she said in never-before-seen footage released in 2022. "They’ve got just the right look and the right charisma onstage. I think they’ll be really great in a boy band together. They're like little stars. You can’t get rid of little stars, you know? So you put them all together."
It turned out pretty okay.
December 2015: Back to the Stage
Five albums, seven American Music Awards and five years as the biggest boy band on the planet later, One Direction went home again, marking their final performance before their hiatus at the 2015 X Factor finale.
Payne sang "History" and "Infinity" with his crew and shared a hug with Cole.
January 2016: On the Market
Citing irreconcilable differences, musician Cole filed to end her second marriage to Jean-Bernard Fernandez-Versini, the French restauranteur she met at the Cannes Film Festival in 2014 and married three months later.
March 2016: A Soft Launch
Days after Payne sparked speculation that he was seeing Cole (briefly changing his Instagram profile picture to a photo of the two of them before reverting to a solo snap), they visited London's Salmontini restarant on March 9, 2016.
April 2016: Cheryl Speaks Out
As rumors began cooking that Cole had cheated on her former husband with the musician, she clapped back on X (then Twitter).
"If anybody believes the s--t they're reading today," she wrote in the April 16, 2016 post, "you really don't know me at all."
May 2016: Making It Official
Turns out it was Cole's talent and giving heart that made her beautiful to Payne. Joining the Girls Aloud musician at the Global Gift Gala in Paris on May 9, 2019 to watch her receive the Global Gift Philanthropist Award, he wrote on X, alongside several kiss emojis, "So proud of her tonight."
November 2016: A Cub on the Way
Mum was the word when the duo worked the carpet at the St James Christmas Carol Concert in London on Nov. 29, 2016, but Cole allowed her figure-hugging dress do the talking.
Though the pair never addressed her pregnancy, when Payne was asked by fans on social media how he was doing that December, he responded, "The happiest I could be."
March 2017: Bear Joins the Pack
A month after Cole sorta kinda confirmed her pregnancy with a maternity shoot, the couple announced on social media that their pack had grown.
"My close friends and family know there are very few times when I'm left speechless... wow!" he wrote on Instagram. "I'm incredibly happy to welcome our new baby boy into the world, it's a moment that I will never forget for the rest of my life and my favourite memory I have so far."
Staring at 7-pound, 9-ounce Bear Grey, "I'm completely in awe of his incredible mother and how she has been the whole way through this," he added, "she's really made my dreams come true."
Though he later admitted he fought for a more "traditional" name for his cub, "The reason she chose Bear was because Bear is a name that when you leave a room, you won't forget," he explained during a May 2017 Total Access radio interview. "And I like that."
July 2018: Different Directions
By May 2017, Payne had taken to calling Cole his "wife," sharing how he never predicted the story of his life would take him here.
"Obviously I have the most beautiful girlfriend in the world, and she's absolutely amazing," he told the U.K.'s Rollacoaster magazine. "She's been my dream girl since I was younger. She's so ace."
But by the following summer, their brief romance had folded.
"Cheryl and I are sad to announce that we are going our separate ways," he wrote in an X missive July 1, 2018. "It's been a tough decision for us to make. We still have so much love for each other as a family. Bear is our world and we ask that you respect his privacy as we navigate our way through this together."
Cole responded with a near-identical message.
As for the rumors her mom came between them, "I can assure you she has absolutely nothing to do with any of it," she shared on X. I am a grown woman who is capable of dealing with my own life. She is a soft and kind woman who doesn't deserve to be dragged into something that has nothing whatsoever to do with her."
Instead their issues were of the fairly common variety.
"You know, we have our struggles," he confessed to ES magazine months earlier. "I'm not gonna sit here and say that everything's absolutely fine and dandy, because of course you go through different things, and that's what a relationship is."
April 2019: Crushing It As Co-Parents
Though their romance was short-lived, Payne and Cole proved they were headed in the right direction when it came to their son.
"Liam is a great dad. He's much softer than me," Cole said in an April 2019 interview with The Telegraph. "But it is what it is, and I'm OK about it. When you have a baby, you are not consumed with just thinking about yourself. It's your responsibility to keep things settled and happy, so you make the best of everything. And we have."
Years later, Payne was signing the same tune when appearing on Logan Paul's Impaulsive podcast in 2022.
"We broke up for a reason and now, she gives me full autonomy of my own life to be able to go and do what I do and at the same time I know he's been taken care of because he's all she cares about," he gushed of his former girlfriend. "You couldn't ask for more."