Being a celebrity: High price to pay

The recent news of the death of Liam Payne,31, a member of the former pop boy band, One Direction, which was once one of the best-selling boy bands of all time, came as a total shock for many, especially his fans. 

Liam fell from the balcony of a hotel he was staying at in Argentina, in unclear circumstances that are yet to be determined. 

Liam was 14 years old when he auditioned for X Factor. He was initially turned down by the judges, but he returned two years later, reauditioned and became a member of One Direction at the age of 16. 

I searched on YouTube to find his first and second auditions and while there was a clear maturity in his performance, the cheering of his family behind the scenes was as enthusiastic and loving, now the same family has to bury him at this young age and after attaining the star status he dreamt of as a young boy. 

He was struggling with different addictions, one of the prominent reasons behind the demise of some celebrities, and while this could also be the reason many other people lose their lives, is always a question.

Why do people who gain so much love from people and money from their work, end up in such tragic ways?

It is not the first time that we wake up to the news of the untimely death of a celebrity. 

In my book of memories, the departure of Michael Jackson in 2009 at the age of 50 due to a cardiac arrest, has been printed as a very sad memory. 

I was and will always remain one of his biggest fans. I believe that he was a phenomenal superstar, the like of whom we are yet to find. 

Millions of people have the same belief as me when it comes to how much appreciated he was, and one wonders, why would such a loved person suffer from a chronic sleep disorder besides many other troubling stories about his life and relationships. 

Amy Winehouse, strangely, was one of the singers that I appreciated. Strangely because she was not exactly my type of artist, she had a certain deep voice and a style that went with it, which made her one of my favourites. 

So, the news of her sudden death at the age of 27 came as a shock, though not that much because she was known for struggling with substance and alcohol abuse. The latter was the immediate cause of her demise, alcohol intoxication.

Sometime back I was watching an interview with a famous Egyptian actor who had two daughters, and when he was asked if he would encourage his daughters to follow his path. 

It was an absolute No. He said this path is thorny, though I managed. I do not want my daughters to go through what I did, now this is a strong statement and food for thought.