One Direction star Zayn Malik has just learned that even belonging to the most beloved boy band today won’t shield him from hatred online. The 21-year-old British singer was bombarded with hate messages and death threats after tweeting the hashtag “FreePalestine.”

Zayn, a Muslim, found himself at the centre of the Israel-Palestine conflict after making his opinion known to his 13 million followers.

#FreePalestine.

— zaynmalik1D (@zaynmalik) July 28, 2014

His tweet was retweeted over 184,000 times and favourited over 185,000 times. His opinion was met with negativity, though. His pro-Israel fans have expressed their disappointment at the young singer, telling him that he has let them down.

“@zaynmalik: #FreePalestine.” Stick to singing and dancing badly and yes Free Palestine from Hamas! — Amanda (@glassyhalffull) July 28, 2014

I actually cried when I saw the tweet it really Breaks my heart