TMZ has defended themselves after publishing snaps of Liam Payne’s body.
In a shocking development that’s left fans worldwide in grief, the outlet found itself in the eye of the storm following the release of distressing images showing the grim scene of much-loved singer Liam Payne. The controversial snaps, which showed Payne after he fell from a balcony in Buenos Aires, Argentina, hit the internet shortly after the heartbreaking revelation of the former One Direction star’s passing on 16 October evening.
Enraged fans blasted the media giant for a lack of sensitivity, with snaps going viral of the singer post-tragedy. Television favourite Rylan Clark lashed out at TMZ on Twitter: “And TMZ f**king shame on you. Disgrace.”
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Another chimed in with harsh criticism: “TMZ posting part of a photo of Liam Payne’s dead body in an article announcing his death is beyond deplorable. I can’t tell if I’m losing my mind lately or if society has always been this overtly morally decrepit.”
(Image: No credit)
Not holding back, celebs added their voice to the chorus of condemnation, with singer Alessia Cara pointing the finger directly at TMZ: “you’re gross @TMZ,” while another fan expressed disgust at the outlet’s continual insensitivity.
Nonetheless, amid the uproar and disdain, TMZs executive Michael Babcock came forward to justify the contentious move while on air with Fox 5 New York, reports the Mirror. He explained: “There’s a balance, and that’s obviously a conversation that newsrooms across the world have you want to be sensitive to the family and to the friends and also while working a news story.”
(Image: Fox 5 New York/ Youtube)
“When the information was coming in, police had not yet confirmed that it was Liam, so what was done on the TMZ website, there was an image did not show the full image, didn’t show his face but that showed his arm and his abdomen, where he has some very recognisable tattoos, so that’s sort of used as a way to confirm, or to match up the tattoos at a point where police had not yet confirmed his identity. And then, once they did, obviously, that photo was removed.”
“I mean, it’s just a terribly horrific and sad story. It’s something obviously that shouldn’t have happened, and this guy had so much life left to live and you feel horrible for everybody.” Distraught fans slammed the actions of TMZ, with one posting under the YouTube clip: “Are they really still trying to justify putting pictures of a dead body on their website?”
(Image: Getty Images)
“TMZ is disgraceful and disgusting and have no respect whatsoever and didn’t even bother to apologise for posting those horrendous pictures! ! ! Will never watch them again!!” fumed a second viewer. “[It’s] not TMZ’s job to ‘identify’ the body,” blasted another. “That is the job of the police/coroner to confirm. Revolting way to justify.”
Another fan chimed in: “The real issue is who from the staff at the hotel or medical team sold the original image.None of the public had access to that specific view point at that time. Snapping that picture on your phone and selling it is grossly immoral.”
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Source: Celebrities - dailystar.co.uk
