Barely hours after One Direction singer Liam Payne fell to his death from a hotel balcony in Argentina, TMZ had an article up with photos of the late star’s body. TMZ cropped the photo so viewers could only see parts of Payne’s body, but the outcry was so strong that the outlet later took down the photo.
This is hardly the first time the outlet has created controversy for its coverage of celebrity deaths. It was criticized for running details about the suicides of Linkin Park singer Chester Bennington and Swedish DJ Avicii, as well as for publishing news of the death of Kobe Bryant and his daughter before the family was notified. While these practices spark outrage, they are technically legal in the United States under the First Amendment, which protects the freedom of the press, according to John Wihbey, an associate professor of journalism at Northeastern University.
