The Betoota Advocate has come under fire from Australians after posting a “disrespectful” meme about the death of Liam Payne.
The satirical news website, known for poking fun at current events, shared a post on Instagram on Thursday shortly after it was revealed that the One Direction star had died at the age of 31 in a Buenos Aires hotel.
The meme was captioned “The nation’s millennial women arrive at work with smeared mascara” and featured a stock image of a sobbing young woman.
“Today, all over Australia, women in their twenties arrive at their workplaces with smeared mascara and red eyes,” the post said, before giving details of Payne’s death.
‘Employers, boyfriends, husbands and fathers are advised to tread carefully today, as the millennial women in their lives enter the early stages of grief.
“Partners of these women are urged to take special care and resist feeling jealous or inadequate when faced with the fact that they will never live up to their childhood aspirations of marrying a boyishly handsome British pop singer.”
But the post fell flat with many of Betoota Advocate’s millions of followers, with some demanding it be removed and others saying it was “too early” to make jokes.
‘He died. He had a life and a son. Please have a little respect,’ one commented.
The Betoota Advocate has come under fire from Australians after posting a ‘disrespectful’ meme (pictured) about the death of One Direction star Liam Payne.
Many commenters criticized the satirical news site for the “disrespectful” post in the comments.
‘Wow. Double whammy of misogyny and lack of respect for the dead!’ said another.
‘Could you be more respectful??? “This is incredibly disgusting,” wrote a third.
“Read the room, what the fuck?” commented a fourth.
‘Oh… his body is still warm. “This is really bad form,” read another.
However, others pointed out the fact that the page was satirical and urged people not to be “offended” by everything they saw online.
Daily Mail Australia has contacted Betoota Advocate for comment.
Payne died after falling from the third floor of the CasaSur Palermo Hotel in Buenos Aires shortly after 5pm local time on Wednesday, after flying to see his former bandmate Niall Horan perform.
Payne (pictured in 2018) died after falling from the third floor of the CasaSur Palermo hotel in Buenos Aires shortly after 5pm on Wednesday local time.
The singer rose to fame when he joined Zayn Malik, Louis Tomlinson, Horan and Harry Styles to form boy band One Direction in 2010, after they individually auditioned for The X Factor.
The group took third place and became a global sensation, with hits such as What Makes You Beautiful and Live While We’re Young.
After becoming one of the biggest pop groups in the world, with five albums and four world tours, they went on an indefinite hiatus in 2016.
While in Argentina, Liam reunited with his former bandmate Horan when he went to see his concert earlier this month.
Payne’s identity was confirmed by emergency services who checked his passport, but police still have no conclusive evidence about the circumstances of his fall.