Liam Payne's family issued a statement Sunday morning, criticising the media coverage of the singer's death, saying it had caused them "indescribable, lasting damage." Hours after the former One Direction star was honored at the annual music Brit Awards in London,

Bear — whom Payne shared with ex Cheryl Cole — “is trying to process emotions which no 7-year-old should have to experience,” the family said in a statement.