Liam Payne fired off a few stern words about his former One Direction bandmate, Zayn Malik.
The 28-year-old singer didn’t hold back when asked about his former pal, revealing to Logan Paul on his “Impaulsive” podcast the “many reasons” why he dislikes Malik.
Tensions ran high in 2015 when Malik quit the popular boyband a year before their indefinite hiatus.
During the chat on Tuesday, YouTuber-turned-boxer Paul described a heated exchange his brother Jake Paul had with Malik back in 2020.
“I had an experience with one of your early bandmates – he was fired up,” Paul said, before naming Malik.
Payne jokingly called his former bandmate “Wayne Malik,” referring to his soccer player-like temper.
Paul remembered a time when his brother tweeted Malik after believing the singer had been “disrespectful” towards him. Shortly after, the singer’s ex-girlfriend, model Gigi Hadid, tweeted Jake, calling him “ugly and irrelevant.”
Zayn Malik (L) and Gigi Hadid are seen outside Eleven Madison Park on January 12, 2020 in New York City.GC Images
Liam Payne and Zayn Malik appear with One Direction to accept awards for FOX’s 2014 Teen Choice Awards.WireImage
Liam Payne and Zayn Malik perform with One Direction in Amsterdam in 2014.Redferns
Zayn Malik, Harry Styles, Louis Tomlinson, Liam Payne and Niall Horan of One Direction attend The BRIT Awards 2014.Getty Images“Then she tweeted something about ‘get yourself a respectful man’ or something – that one didn’t age very well,” Payne chimed in.
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Payne was referring to the alleged altercation last year where Malik was accused of “striking” Hadid’s mother, Yolanda. He has vehemently denied the claim.
Not touching on his hidden reference further, Payne went on, “Before we go too deep into this, there are many many reasons why I dislike Zayn and there are many reasons why I’ll always always be on his side.
“If I had had to go through what he went through his growth and whatever else … my parents are overly supportive to the point where it’s annoying at times, and Zayn had a different upbringing in that sense,” Payne explained.
“There are many many reasons why I dislike Zayn.”
Liam Payne
He added, “You can always look at the man for where he is and say ‘oh yeah, whatever, that guy’s a d–,’ but at the end of the day once you understand what he’s been through to get to the point, and whether or not if he actually even wanted to be there.”
Payne added that he himself is “so misunderstood,” so he “can’t sit here and d– on [Zayn] because of whatever.”
The Post reached out to Malik’s reps for comment.
Liam Payne attends an exclusive party hosted by Frieze and Versace to celebrate London’s creative community at Toklas on October 15, 2021 in London, England.Dave Benett/Getty Images for Fri
