Simon Cowell calls former One Direction band member Zayn Malik ‘rude’ over the singer’s comments on 1D’s music

Simon Cowell speaks out over Zayn Malik’s comments about One Direction’s music.

The former One Direction band member has been candid in his interview with Fader magazine for its December/January issue. In an interview with the magazine, he shared that he wasn’t given the chance to express his own take in music during his stint with One Direction.

He stated, “There was never any room for me to experiment creatively in the band. If I would sing a hook or a verse slightly R&B, or slightly myself, it would always be recorded 50 times until there was a straight version that was pop, generic as f---, so they could use that version.”

Malik also admitted that there were times when he would recommend or suggest something, more often than not, it was not well received. “It was like it didn’t fit us,” he explained, referring to One Direction’s music. “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. I wasn’t 100 percent behind the music. It wasn’t me.”

The former One Direction band member’s interview has also earned a reaction from music mogul Cowell, who told Mirror that Malik’s comments were “a bit rude to the people who wrote all the hits with them. And to the other band members. I mean they all wrote a lot of the stuff.” The music producer also shared that Malik “will probably reconsider what he’s said” once the singer has had the chance to reflect on his comments. Cowell even explained that 1D’s writing method “was a very, very democratic process in the band.”

Cowell also admitted that he has not given much thought to the former One Direction band member since his departure from the group. “To be honest I don’t even think about it too much because as soon as he left we sorted him out with a label who really were enthusiastic about him and then my loyalty was back with the boys,” he stated.

One Direction, comprised of Niall Horan, Louis Tomlinson, Harry Styles, Liam Payne and Malik, was first discovered in Cowell’s “X Factor UK” singing competition. The band did not win the competition but went on to become one of the famous boy bands in the world. Malik, however, decided to leave the band in March 2015.

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