Former X Factor star Katie Waissel has called for a negligence and duty of care investigation into Simon Cowell’s record company after Liam Payne‘s death.
The 31-year-old former One Direction singer plunged 45ft from the third floor into the courtyard of the Casa Sur Hotel in Buenos Aires, prompting a wave of tributes from across the showbiz world.
Waissel, a 38-year-old singer-songwriter who auditioned alongside Payne on the 2010 series of X Factor, name-checked Cowell in two statements in which she accused music bosses of focusing on ‘profits rather than people’.
Last night she went further still – citing an ‘urgent need for change in the music industry’ as she called for an ‘immediate investigation’ and ‘new laws’ to protect stars.
Cowell, 65, was a judge on X Factor and signed One Direction to his music label, Syco.
Taking to social media, she posted: ‘The tragic loss of my dear friend Liam Payne highlights the urgent need for change in the music industry.
Cowell…