TMZ exec defends posting photos of Liam Payne’s body and explains why he did it

He called the decision ‘a balance’ and claimed TMZ ‘wanted to be sensitive’

2 months ago

Hayley Soen | News

Following huge backlash, TMZ decided to remove previously published photos of the body of Liam Payne, just hours after the singer had been found dead at a hotel in Argentina. Now, an exec at the publication has defended the initial decision to share the pictures, and explained why he did so.

TMZ was one of the first publications to report on the death of Liam Payne on Wednesday night, and people called out the site for publishing pictures which showed sections of his body. Liam was reported to have passed away on Wednesday night (16th), after falling from the third floor balcony of the hotel he had been staying at in South America.

At the time, the TMZ report said: “TMZ obtained a photo showing Liam’s body on a wooden deck at the hotel with tables and chairs nearby. We’re not showing the whole body, but you can clearly see his tattoos — a clock on his left forearm, and a scorpion on his abdomen.” Alongside this, were two photos.

People online were outraged by the decision, with one person labelling it “beyond deplorable” and “morally decrepit.” However now, executive producer for TMZ, Michael Babcock, has been questioned about the editorial decision by Fox 5 New York, and defended it.

via YouTube / Fox5

“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,” he said.

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“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.”

After the backlash, TMZ changed its initial report to read: “TMZ has seen a photo showing Liam’s body on the deck at the hotel with tables and chairs nearby. You can clearly see his tattoos – a clock on his left forearm, and a scorpion on his abdomen – which helped us confirm early reports from witnesses.”