Celebrities have remembered their late family members over the years with social media tributes. Austin Butler, Sabrina Carpenter, Harry Styles and Ariana Grande, among other notable names, have spoken out publicly following the death of someone close to them.
Louis Tomlinson, for example, lost both his mom and sister while in the public eye. The singer’s mom, Johannah Deakin, died in 2016 following a battle with cancer. News of his sister Félicité Tomlinson‘s death broke in March 2019. A coroner’s report obtained by BBC News reported that she “died accidentally from a fatal combination of drugs.” While he hasn’t spoken too much about their deaths, Louis did speak about overcoming grief during a September 2019 interview with The Guardian.
“After I lost my mum, every song I wrote felt, not pathetic, but that it lacked true meaning to me,” the Walls singer shared at the time. “That whole dark side I’ve gone through, it sounds stupid to say, but it gives me strength everywhere else in my life, because that’s the darkest s–t that I’m going to have to deal with. So it makes everything else, not feel easier and not less important, but, in the grand scheme of things, you see things for what they are, I suppose.”
The former One Direction member continued, “There’s no time for me to be sat feeling sorry for myself. I’ve been to rock bottom and I feel like, whatever my career’s going to throw in front of me, it’s going to be nothing as big or as emotionally heavy as that. So, weirdly, I’ve turned something that’s really dark into something that empowers me, makes me stronger.”
Following the death of their grandfather Perry in July 2020, Demi Lovato penned a since-deleted tribute on Instagram.
“Woke up to the news that my Grandpa Perry passed away early this morning. He’s been sick for a couple years now so although I’m relieved he is out of pain, it still hurts to think our family won’t get to say goodbye with a proper funeral for a while,” they shared at the time. “But that’s the reality during this pandemic. This man loved God FIERCELY and was one of the best preachers I’ve ever had the honor in witnessing spread the word of God. I love you, Grandpa. I’m sorry we didn’t take more pictures together but I have so many memories to make me smile until we meet again someday. Rest easy. Love you.”
Scroll through our gallery to read other celebrity tributes over the years.
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