Liam Payne’s death: Petition calling for law “safeguarding the mental health of artists within the industry” nears 40,000 signatures

nme.com:

Change.Org website, the petition comes in light of the tragic death of Liam Payne, who died last Wednesday (October 16), after falling from a third-floor balcony at a hotel in Buenos Aires, Argentina.Now surpassing over 40,000 signatures, it calls for more efforts being made to “safeguard artists” in the entertainment industry, and provide more support for those struggling with mental health.“In recent news of Liam Payne’s tragic death as many others, the entertainment industry needs to be held accountable and be responsible to the welfare of their artists,” wrote Day Kv, who created the petition (which you can sign here).“We seek to implore lawmakers to create legislation safeguarding the mental health of artists within the industry [as well as] regular mental health check-ups, adequate rest periods, and the presence of mental health professionals on-set, including any ongoing support during their career”.Payne rose to fame as part of One Direction during The X Factor‘s 2010 series, after initially auditioning two years earlier at the age of 14.He had also opened up about struggles with addiction and mental health in the past.

Back in 2021, the soloist and former One Direction member spoke on Steven Bartlett’s The Diary Of A CEO podcast, and recalled how he “didn’t like myself very much” during his time with One Direction.He went on to talk about how there was “some stuff that I’ve definitely never spoken about” publicly (as per Standard), as well as the struggles he felt from being in the public eye.The campaign launched amid a widespread conversation being triggered about the pressures put on young artists, and various famous faces calling for action to be made.Songwriter Guy Chambers, for instance, recently called on.