Robbie Williams has shared a passionate tribute to One Direction singer Liam Payne, who died this week after falling from a balcony at a Buenos Aires hotel.

Williams served as One Direction’s mentor when the band competed on The X Factor in 2010 and maintained a friendship with Payne and the group.

He says he felt and still feels “shock, sadness and confusion” over Payne’s death and remembers meeting him and his bandmates. “They were all cheeky and lovely. I enjoyed the carefree pisstaker and thought about all the moments of being the cheeky pisstaker with the pop stars that had come before me when I was on Take That. Since that day our paths have crossed and I like them all. Liam’s trials and tribulations were very similar to mine, so it made sense to reach out and offer what I could. That’s what I did.”

Drug paraphernalia was discovered in Payne’s hotel room and he had previously been open about his problems with alcohol and drug use. In his appreciation, Williams draws on his own history of addiction.

“At 31, I still had my demons,” he wrote — Payne’s age when he died. “I relapsed. I was in pain. I was in pain because I was relapsing. I relapsed for a variety of painful reasons. I remember Heath Ledger walking by and thinking, ‘I’m next.’ By the grace of God and/or bad luck, I’m still here.”

He called for the public to be more kind and empathetic towards famous people who may be facing difficulties in their personal lives, saying: “Famous strangers need your compassion too.”

He added in block letters: “We don’t know what’s going on in people’s lives. What pain they are going through and what causes them to behave the way they behave. Before we come to a verdict, there needs to be some calm. Before you type anything on the internet, think about it: “Do I really need to publish this?” Because that’s exactly what you’re doing. You publish your thoughts for everyone to read. Even if you don’t really believe that celebrities or their families exist. They fucking do. Skin and bones and extremely sensitive.”

A coroner’s report found that Payne died from multiple injuries from the fall from the third-floor balcony and that he was alone at the time of his death.

In addition to expressing the sadness of his global fan base, his former bandmates also wrote individual tributes and a joint statement that read, in part, “The memories we shared with him will be remembered forever.”

Williams’ career – including his battle with drugs – will be portrayed in an unusual upcoming biopic. Better Man, directed by The Greatest Showman’s Michael Gracey and released on Boxing Day, charts the pop singer’s rise to fame, with a CGI monkey playing Williams.