Fond memories. Louis Tomlinson got honest about his thoughts on Zayn Malik singing One Direction songs years after exiting the band.
“It was great to see him reminiscing on the one direction days,” Tomlinson, 30, tweeted on Wednesday, August 24, after a fan asked about Malik’s recent social media activity. (The “From Dusk Till Dawn” musician left the band in 2015.)
Earlier this month, the “Better” artist, 29, made headlines when he performed an a capella version of the band’s 2014 track “Night Changes.” Fans were quick to point out that the U.K. native’s choice of song came from the final One Direction album before his departure.
The boy band, who went on an indefinite hiatus in January 2016, have continued to be a topic of conversation after Liam Payne called out his tumultuous relationship with Malik.
“There’s many reasons why I dislike Zayn and there’s many reasons why I’ll always, always be on his side. If I had had to go through what he went through — with his growth and whatever else,” the “Strip That Down” singer, 28, told Logan Paul on the “Impaulsive” podcast in May.
At the time, Payne also opened up about how his bond with Tomlinson changed over the years. “Louis was wild and [he was] wanting to be wild, that’s his spirit,” the former boy band member, who was also in One Direction with Harry Styles and Niall Horan, said. “And also he’s my best mate now, but in the band we hated each other. Like, to come to blows hated each other.”
The “Get Low” crooner walked back his comments about Malik shortly after the episode went live. “I was saying that there will always be things we disagree on but that I will always, always be on his side. That’s family,” he tweeted that same month. “Zayn is my brother and I will stand by him forever.”
Tomlinson, for his part, later shut down questions about a potential “beef” between Payne and Malik.
“So the fishing’s begun already. I see what you’re doing,” the performer jokingly said during an appearance on Australia’s “The Project” in July. “I’m immensely proud, as I know Liam is … of those days, obviously. It was an incredible thing to do, especially to do at such a young age. Amazing memories.”
He clarified that he was “more than happy to talk about” his time in One Direction outside of “retroactive questions,” adding, “It’s just when you mentioned the beef before, it sounded like you were ready to stir some s–t up, that’s all I’m saying.”
