One Direction fans went on a crazy meltdown following a rare but sweet interaction between former bandmates Liam Payne and Zayn Malik. The boy band rose to fame in 2010 after they joined the British television show The X Factor with Harry Styles, Louis Tomlinson, and Niall Horan. Unfortunately, the group has been on indefinite hiatus since 2016.
A recent social media interaction sparked the curiosity of fans and sent every ‘Directioners’ on a whirlwind of emotions.
Liam Payne’s Instagram Comment on Zayn Malik Reopens Old Controversies
On Saturday, Zayn Malik posted a teaser of his upcoming music on Instagram. Liam Payne wrote in the comment section: “This sounds big already” to which Malik replied with: “Appreciate it bro, thanks for the love.” The comment received more than 150,000 likes.
This simple interaction brought 1D fans on social media to express their delight as well as annoyance. It has been a decade since the former bandmates interacted with each other in public. Fans would remember they had a long history of feuds that dates back to 2015. This was after Malik decided to part ways with his co-members.
In 2022, Payne threw shades at Malik when he appeared in Logan Paul’s podcast Impaulsive. He revealed his true feelings toward his former bandmate and left nothing unsaid:
“It was well-known within the band that I don’t like taking sh*t. There was one moment where there was an argument backstage, and one member, in particular, threw me up a wall. So I said to him, ‘If you don’t remove those hands, there’s a high likelihood you’ll never use them again.’”
Payne expressed more of his sentiments and expounded on why he has “many reasons why I dislike Zayn”:
“You can always look at the man for where he is and say, ‘Oh, yeah, whatever, that guy’s a d**k,’ right? but at the end of the day, once you understand what he’s been through to get to that point, and also whether or not he actually even wanted to be there [in the band].”
Despite airing his grievances against Malik, the singer tried to back-pedal on his remark and added:
“There are 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… My parents are overly supportive to the point where it’s annoying at times. Zayn had a different upbringing in that sense.”
Time heals everything, or at least makes the jagged edges rounder and smoother enough not to hurt people again. This simple interaction between former friends and bandmates delighted many fans, but also vexed some.
Zayn Malik And Liam Payne’s Social Media Interaction Sparks Debate Among Fans
One Direction fans took to Twitter their displeasure at seeing this rare interaction between Liam Payne and Zayn Malik. Check out what people have to say:
my humble king (zayn) being the bigger person and replying in pity 😢❤️
— fifa (@zaynsjjk) July 1, 2023
directioners in the replies omg do they really still think those boys love each other lmaooooooo
— fee⁷ ᵇʸ ʲᵏ (@taetannic) July 1, 2023
he was hacked!!!!! stop spreading misinformation
— baba farmer (@hrts4ziall) July 1, 2023
I just know zayn was paid to do this no one likes liam
— Candy Necklace || Ethan (@ethann0901) July 1, 2023
zayn is so nice for giving that khia a notice
— txmii ♦️ (@txmiiscards) July 1, 2023
Whether old wounds have finally healed and the former One Direction bandmates are now on good terms, fans’ opinions remain divisive and still believe that their interaction was not genuine at all.
Sources: Impaulsive, Twitter
