Every salty thing Zayn ever did that proved he hated being in One Direction

When One Direction celebrated 10 years, the occasion was marred by the very noticeable and ugly silence of one particular member. While Liam went on Radio One to affectionately discuss his love for listening to some of their older tunes after he’s had a few, the other members graced our timelines with impassioned and sweet tributes to what once was. But there was not a single peep to be heard from the Bradford boy, Zayn Malik.

If you think about it, this is hardly a surprise. Since his departure from the band, he’s made it his responsibility to say some pretty choice words about the whole affair. So, from the early days of shunting the spotlight to his latest quotes on the band, let’s go through every instance in which Zayn has made it quite clear that he doesn’t have good memories of the past.

His refusal to do choreography should have been a sign for things to come

Mate, they weren’t even a fully-fledged band before Zayn was throwing his first tantrum on The X Factor. It all started when Simon and Louis decided to run a tortuous choreography class that saw a load of young boys gyrating awkwardly on stage to Lady Gaga (Louis must have been over the moon). However, this was a prospect that Zayn found particularly stressful as someone with two left feet.

Firstly he flat out refused, and Simon had to coax him out of the rafters for his turn. Skip to 2:47 for some very funny awkward dancing. Can’t say I wouldn’t look exactly the same, mind.

His eventual departure from the band was only the beginning

I mean… was there a better way of showing just how much he hated being in One Direction than just… leaving?

Just 16 shows into their tour, Malik turned around and decided it wasn’t for him, literally flying home the next day and leaving the rest of them to complete the Asian leg of the tour alone. In the band’s official statement, it mentioned that Zayn wanted to live as a “normal 22-year-old who is able to relax and have some private time out of the spotlight”. He denied rumours of a rift between the members, but this seems kind of unlikely given some of the things he’s said since.

He has been described as “the quiet one in the group” by various people, but it was at this point that he decided to burn all bridges and make fan’s hearts break all over the world with a number of critical interviews and public spats.

He jumped straight into the slander by calling their music “generic as fuck”

Clearly trying to distance himself from the “friendly teen” vibe of One Direction, newfound bad boy Zayn told Fader magazine that their music was “generic as fuck” and didn’t fit his ✨style✨.

“Whenever I would suggest something, it was like it didn’t fit us. There was just a general conception that the management already had of what they want for the band and I just wasn’t convinced with what we were selling.” Yikes.

…and then said that he wouldn’t listen to any of it either

Next up on the press run from hell came Rolling Stone, who he told: “That’s not music I would listen to. Would you listen to One Direction at a party with your girl? I wouldn’t. To me, that’s not an insult, that’s me as a 22-year-old man.”

“As much as I was in that band, and I loved everything that we did, that’s not music that I would listen to. I want to make music that I think is cool shit. I don’t think that’s too much to ask for.” HE SWEARS IN INTERVIEWS NOW GUYS!

He had some heated Twitter beef with Louis and seemingly every other celeb in 2015

This is a weird one. Malik was first seen with producer Naughty Boy in a recording studio in March 2015, and they made a tune together much to Louis’ disapproval.

Then for some reason by July he was calling Naughty Boy a “fat joke”. Zayn hasn’t ever really been bothered much by his perceivably negative image, which could be to the detriment of the very group that made him his name. Whether it was his spat with Calvin Harris or Tom from The Wanted (lol), he’s had his fair share of acting like a huge penis on social media.

“I never really wanted to be there, like in the band”

In 2016 he told Beats One’s Zane Lowe that he never even wanted to be in One Direction.

“I think I always wanted to go, from like the first year, really. I never really wanted to be there, like in the band. I realized the direction we were going in — mind the pun — with the music, I instantly realized it wasn’t for me because I realized I couldn’t put any input in.”

In 2017 he said he “never really spoke to Harry”

Another day, another interview saying stuff about the band, although this time he set his crosshairs on Harry.

He told Us Weekly that he wasn’t ever close with Harry while they were in the band, saying that he “never really spoke to Harry” and that he knew they wouldn’t be keeping in touch after he left the band.

Then he told Billboard in the same year: “Our relationships have definitely changed since we were in a band together, but I think that’s just life. Everybody grows up — two of the guys have got kids now. But no, I don’t talk to any of them, really.”

…and then said he didn’t make ANY friends from the band

Malik told GQ that he “didn’t make any friends from the band”, which is weird considering that in the Facebook post announcing his departure from the band, he wrote that he had found “four friends for life”.

“It’s not something that I’m afraid to say. I definitely have issues trusting people.”

Finally, he called One Direction a “machine” that he didn’t enjoy

Zayn spoke to Vogue UK in 2018, calling One Direction a “machine”.

“I think back to the performances towards the end when we were in stadiums — I wasn’t really ever able to enjoy the experience. The machine had gone too fast.”

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