Zayn Malik's Sister Doniya Defends Liam Payne From "Cruel Comments" After His Death

Zayn Malik's sister is calling for more kindness and mental health awareness in wake of his bandmate Liam Payne's death.

One day after the One Direction alum, 31, was found dead after falling from the balcony of a Bueno Aires hotel room, Doniya Malik shared a video featuring footage of Liam speaking about his mental health and addiction struggles.

"And this should be a reminder to always be kind. You never know what a person is truly going through," the 33-year-old captioned her Oct. 17 Instagram Stories post. "Always think before you write cruel comments online."

The footage begins with a clip of Liam talking about his experience with alcohol addiction and other personal struggles on the Diary of a CEO podcast in 2021.

"I was worried how far my rock bottom was going to be," he told host Steven Bartlett. "And you would never have seen it. I'm very good at hiding it. No one would have ever seen it."

Liam began struggling with alcohol addiction in the years before One Direction's infinite hiatus began in 2016.

"The problem we had in the band—and I don't blame anybody for this, I don't want to seem like I'm whining or moaning, 'Oh my god, look at my life,' whatever—but it feels to me like when we were in the band, the best way to secure us because of how big it got was just lock us in our rooms," he said on the podcast. "And, of course, what's in the room? Minibar."

Doniya's post also contained a clip of Liam discussing his mental health battles on the 2019 special Ant Middleton And Liam Payne: Straight Talking.

"There's times where that level of loneliness and people getting into you every day," the singer said. "Every so often, you're like, when will this end?"

He continued, "For some certain circumstances, I'm quite lucky to be here still."

In addition, the montage contained part of a video Liam had posted on his Instagram Stories in 2023, following a 100-day stay at a treatment facility, in which he shared that he had been diagnosed with "a couple of conditions."

Doniya’s post is not the only way Liam's One Direction family has shown him love after his passing. Zayn and his bandmates Harry Styles, Niall Horan and Louis Tomlinson have all paid tribute to the late singer following news of his death.

"Liam, I have found myself talking out loud to you, hoping you can hear me," Zayn wrote on Instagram Oct. 17. "I can't help but think selfishly that there was so many more conversations for us to have in our lives. I never got to thank you for supporting me through some of the most difficult times in my life."

He continued, "I love a brother when you left us and can't explain to you what I'd give to just give you a hug one last time and say goodbye to you properly and tell you that I loved and respected you dearly. I will cherish all the memories I have with you in my heart forever."

Look back at Liam's life in pictures...

"There's a lot of manic things in my life," he said. "But the other side of it is, and that kind of feels like when I would lose my sobriety, would be in these moments that were super low, and I felt like that today. Since isolating the two things and seeing them separately, and I know what they are now and I can identify them."

The singer continued, "Luckily, I've got some amazing people around me that look after me but I'm sure they can see it in me too, that I'm not really here."

Doniya’s post is not the only way Liam's One Direction family has shown him love after his passing. Zayn and his bandmates Harry Styles, Niall Horan and Louis Tomlinson have all paid tribute to the late singer following news of his death.

"Liam, I have found myself talking out loud to you, hoping you can hear me," Zayn wrote on Instagram Oct. 17. "I can't help but think selfishly that there was so many more conversations for us to have in our lives. I never got to thank you for supporting me through some of the most difficult times in my life."

He continued, "I love a brother when you left us and can't explain to you what I'd give to just give you a hug one last time and say goodbye to you properly and tell you that I loved and respected you dearly. I will cherish all the memories I have with you in my heart forever."

Look back at Liam's life in pictures...

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