LIAM Payne has backtracked on comments he made criticising Zayn Malik in a podcast interview with Logan Paul.
The singer took aim at his former One Direction bandmate in the candid chat, revealing there are ‘many reasons he dislikes him’.
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The comment came as he and Logan reflected on an ugly late night incident between Zayn and the podcaster’s brother Jake in a Las Vegas hotel in 2020.
In his interview, Liam mockingly referred to Zayn as ‘Wayne’ Malik before joking that a tweet Zayn’s then-girlfriend Gigi Hadid had written about Jake Paul after the bust up “hadn’t aged well”.
She accused Jake of being “irrelevant” and lacking respect after he and Zayn and Jake had to be separated in a hotel.
Liam’s words seemed to hint at last year’s alleged domestic bust up between Zayn and Gigi’s mum Yolanda, who accused him of striking her, something he has denied.
In an attempt to clarify his words, Liam tweeted: “Guys – I wouldn’t normally comment on this stuff but when its your family it’s hard to let it slide.
“They mentioned a specific incident involving Zayn which I responded to – but listening back maybe I didn’t articulate myself as well as I could have.
“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. Zayn is my brother and I will stand by him forever.”
Without going into detail, Liam suggested Zayn’s parents were partially to blame for his questionable behaviour in recent years – notably their lack of support for him as youngster in spotlight.
He said of Zayn: “If I had had to go through what he went through 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.
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“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 he actually even wanted to be there…
“Listen, I don’t agree with any of his actions. I can’t commend some of the things that he’s done. I can’t be on his side for that. But what I can say is that I understand, and you only hope that some point in their life, the person on the other end of the phone wants to receive the help you’re willing to give.”
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