Zayn & One Direction’s Social Media Interactions Post-Split Are All Over The Place
Celebrity relationships and friendships are a rare breed. These famous faces have their lives played out in front of the masses, whether it’s the good, the bad, or the straight-up shady. In Elite Daily’s new series, It’s Complicated, we’re highlighting the biggest celebrity “feuds” that took over Hollywood and dominated our Sunday brunches for weeks on end. We’ll take a deep dive into the lives and social media feeds of our favorite stars and dissect what happened in front of the camera, what went down behind the scenes, and everything you might have missed in between.
There are still not enough words to convince die-hard One Direction fans that Zayn Malik is on the outs with Harry Styles, Liam Payne, Niall Horan, and Louis Tomlinson. Nearly five years after Malik quit the band and 1D's subsequent "indefinite" hiatus, Directioners continue to hold out hope the five men will someday realize they miss making music together and reunite. From Malik and One Direction's social media interactions over the years, however, it doesn't seem like the boys are ready to put the little things of the past behind them and give their 1D days another chance.
When Malik announced his decision to quit One Direction in a lengthy Facebook post in March 2015, the statement was surprisingly friendly.
My life with One Direction has been more than I could ever have imagined. But, after five years, I feel like it is now the right time for me to leave the band... I know I have four friends for life in Louis, Liam, Harry and Niall. I know they will continue to be the best band in the world.
But, since then, his interactions with 1D have gotten far less than cordial.
May 2015: Tensions Run High
Two months after Malik's departure from One Direction, his new friend, British music producer Naughty Boy, tweeted a pic with Malik in a recording studio, writing, "Replace this."
Tomlinson tweeted, "Remember when you were 12 and you used to think those Mac filters for your pictures were cool haha ! Some people still do HA," and fans immediately assumed he was making fun of Naughty Boy and Malik's pic.
Tomlinson also took a jab at Naughty Boy, writing, "Jesus forgot you were such an in demand producer .... How does it feel to be riding on the back of someone else's career?"
Shortly after, Malik fired back at Tomlinson, tweeting, "Remember when you had a life and stopped making b*tchy comments about mine?"
July 2015: Malik Disses 1D
Malik appeared to take a not-so-subtle dig at 1D after signing with RCA Records as a solo artist. "I guess I never explained why I left," he wrote. "It was for this moment to be given the opportunity to show you who i really am!" Malik added the harsh hashtag, "#realmusic."
August 2015: A Change in Tone
Shortly after Malik had a very public falling out with Naughty Boy, he showed some love for his former bandmates. After 1D released "Drag Me Down," Malik praised the song on Twitter: "Proud of my boys the new single is sick. Big love. :) x."
January 2016: Oh, Baby!
Despite any hard feelings Malik had, he put them in the past to celebrate the birth of Tomlinson and Briana Jungwirth's son, Freddie. Malik even "liked" a photo of Tomlinson and his baby boy on Twitter.
December 2016: Malik Sends Condolences
After Tomlinson's mother passed away, Malik sent a tweet to let him know he was thinking of him: "Love you bro! All of your family is in my prayers. proud of your strength and know your mum is too x."
March 2018: No More Malik
When the hashtag "#OneDirectionBestFans" trended No. 1 worldwide on Twitter two years after 1D disbanded, Payne sent out a congratulatory tweet to his former bandmates, but one name was noticeably missing: "@NiallOfficial @Louis_Tomlinson @Harry_Styles can you believe this after so long?!!! Thank you so much you guys are unbelievable."
December 2018: Tomlinson Shades Malik's New Music
Malik and Tomlinson seemingly had a non-direct exchange after Malik released a clip of his song "Good Years. The lyrics in the clip had many fans speculating the song was about his time in 1D: "I'd rather be anywhere, anywhere but here / I'd rather be anywhere, anywhere but here / I close my eyes, I see a crowd of a thousand tears / I pray to God I didn't waste all my good years / All my good years / All my good years."
Shortly after Malik released the teaser, Tomlinson tweeted: "Proper confused. What a hypocrite!"
Tomlinson didn't mention Malik directly in his tweet, but the timing and sentiment of the tweet were enough to convince fans it was a message.
March 2019: A Subtle Apology
After Tomlinson called Malik out for being a no-show at his first performance after the death of his mom on the 2016 X Factor finale, Malik seemingly tweeted an apology.
"I had a couple of calls with him after I lost my mum, and all the boys had agreed to come to that performance, and he didn’t show, so that really bugged me," Tomlinson told The Sun. "It was just seeing everyone there — Harry, Niall, and Liam — that was what I needed that night, that support. So on the other end of the spectrum, it kind of really showed."
Days later, Malik tweeted (then deleted): "I’d like (to) apologize for basically being a sh*t person.”
If you're hoping for a 1D reunion that includes Malik, your best bet might be to close your eyes and listen to some of their old songs, because from the looks of their social media interactions, these guys are not on the same page.
