Fans have flooded Harry Styles with messages of condolence after a spokesperson for the singer confirmed the death of his stepfather, Robin Twist, People reports. The 57-year-old Twist, who had two children from a previous relationship, was married to Styles' mother, Anne Cox Twist.
"Harry’s stepfather, Robin Twist, sadly passed away this week after a long battle with cancer," read a statement from Styles' team. "The family asks for privacy at this time."
No other details about the death were made public.
Styles and his stepfather appear to have been especially close. The 23-year-old "Sign of the Times" singer acted as best man when Twist married his mother in 2013 after years of dating. The longtime couple celebrated their fourth wedding anniversary earlier this month, according to an Instagram post shared by Anne on June 2.
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Just as they did when Styles' One Direction bandmate Louis Tomlinson's mother Johannah died from leukaemia late last year, fans rushed to offer their support on Twitter. #RIPRobin is now trending.
Many of the tweets featured family photos showing the close bond between Twist and Harry, as well as his sister, Gemma.
Sending my thoughts, prayers and love to the whole Styles/Twist family. I'm so sorry for your loss. #RIPRobin pic.twitter.com/h5ZRdK55st
— Hannah Clarke (@Hannah_Clarke94) June 22, 2017
Sending all my love and my prayers to the whole family. He was such an incredible person #RIPRobin pic.twitter.com/glWAoAFQOg
— Agathe (@rearharry) June 22, 2017
sending all of my thoughts and prayers to harry and his family #RIPRobin ,you will be missed ?? pic.twitter.com/cHV7rfXDpa
— khe; (@drknialler) June 22, 2017
One Directioner Liam Payne, meanwhile, is getting a hard time from fans who found this morning's promotional tweet about behind-the-scenes footage from his new "Strip That Down" video to be in bad taste.
Who wants to see behind-the-scenes of the #StripThatDown video? ? https://t.co/VED03mqnPq pic.twitter.com/QGVgnaR2e2
— Liam (@LiamPayne) June 22, 2017
"Um... not right now, mate," one fan responded. "A little upset about Robin. I'm going to assume this is your PR team, not you."
"Not the right time," added another commenter. "I hope this is not Liam who tweets, or maybe he's oblivious about Robin."
Um... not right now, mate. A little upset about Robin. I'm going to assume this is your PR team, not you.
— Blue? (@Lazulioness) June 22, 2017
No. Not all. Not the right time. I hope this is not Liam who tweets, or maybe he's oblivious about Robin.
— Carolina (@hstylesOnedx) June 22, 2017
Indeed, bad timing.
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