‘Who was in your corner?’: Fans are calling for a ‘Liam’s Law’ to protect the mental health of music artists

One Direction star Liam Payne passed away on October 16 and the circumstances of his death were tragic.

Trigger warning: mentions of death, abuse, addiction, and suicide

He was reportedly heavily intoxicated and fell off a third-floor balcony, which caused injuries he could not survive. There has been a lot of talk about Payne’s mental health in the aftermath of his death. He’d allegedly abused his ex-fiance Maya Henry, and while poor mental health doesn’t remotely excuse this, it may explain it. The pop star lifestyle took its toll on Payne, as it has done with many others. In 2021, he spoke on the Diary of a CEO podcast about “moments of suicidal ideation” he had suffered, and the “pills and booze” he took.

Regardless of what you think of Liam Payne, there’s no doubt that he was in a terrible place when he died. People have blamed the entertainment industry and the lack of protection for young stars. Sharon Osbourne, wife of Ozzy Osbourne and one-time X-Factor judge, said in her tribute to Payne, “We all let you down. Where was this industry when you needed them? You were just a kid when you entered one of the toughest industries in the world. Who was in your corner?”

Now, Payne’s fans are calling for young music artists to be given the mental health support they need while navigating the industry. A fan who goes by the screenname Day Kv has opened a petition on Change.org titled “Enact Legislation to Safeguard Artists’ Mental Health in the Entertainment Industry.” The petition has picked up a hashtag, #LiamsLaw on X.

Day Kv states that the petition is to provide “regular mental health check-ups, adequate rest periods, and the presence of mental health professionals on-set” for artists. She started it, she told NBC News, because she “wasn’t coping well” in the aftermath of Payne’s death and “felt like I had to channel it somewhere.”

“The artist’s role is invaluable not just in the world of entertainment but also in society. Let us ensure their protection and wellbeing,” she wrote on the petition. “Your signature could be a lifeline for these talented individuals, contributing to a larger movement of mental health awareness and care in industries worldwide.”

It’s a noble goal, and the petition is doing very well, with 110,000 signatures and counting. Whether it will have an impact remains to be seen, but it’s good to see people talking about mental health and how young artists are failed by the system. It may also help those who are struggling with poor mental health in the aftermath of Payne’s death, feeling unable to cope with the loss of someone they idolized. One thing is abundantly clear: when it comes to mental health, we all need to look out for each other.