Zayn Malik Branded An ‘Idiot’ For Leaving One Direction, Harry Styles Advised To Stay With Group

Zayn Malik’s decision to leave One Direction is being criticized by someone who knows a thing or two about band breakups – notoriously grumpy Noel Gallagher.

Noel was once a member of a group that billed itself as being bigger than the Beatles. However, Oasis failed to live up to those high expectations, and it wasn’t long before the group started shedding its founding members. Perhaps now Noel has some regrets about all the inner turmoil his once-successful group struggled with over the years. During a recent interview with Rolling Stone, the 47-year-old “Wonderwall” songwriter criticized Zayn Malik for walking away from his own popular group. His expletive-filled rant might upset One Direction fans who believe Zayn made the right choice.

“It’s a strange thing for that lad to have done at that age,” Noel said. “The greatest quote was — I laughed out loud when I read it — ‘I just want to be a normal 22-year-old.’ Pfft. Who wants to be a normal 22-year-old?! Hang on a minute. You can be f**ing anything that moves and gettin’ paid half a million dollars a week, you f**kin’ idiot. You want to be a normal 22-year-old? Have you met any normal 22-year-olds? They’re f**kin’ shit-for-brains.”

Noel might not be Zayn Malik’s biggest fan, but at least he offered the singer a little helpful advice to follow now that he’s no longer cashing in that One Direction paycheck.

“F**kin’ get a good accountant because life is very f**kin’ long.”

He also warned Zayn that he might be regretting his decision to leave the group in a few years.

“I’ll say this to you, Zayn: You might have wanted to be a normal 22-year-old, but you won’t want to be a normal 25-year-old.”

Noel Gallagher isn’t the only musician who has weighed in on Zayn Malik’s decision to walk way away from One Direction. Former NSYNC singer Lance Bass has also witnessed first-hand what happens after members of a hugely successful band decide to jump ship. However, Lance disagrees with Noel’s assertion that Zayn is making a big mistake, and he doesn’t think that Zayn will fade into obscurity or file for bankruptcy anytime soon. As the Inquisitr previously reported, Lance actually thinks that Zayn made a smart career move by being the first member of the group to leave.

During an interview with Hollywood Life, Lance Bass also shared his thoughts about what Harry Styles should do next. Because Harry has always been the most buzzed-about member of the band, it was thought that he would be the first 1D singer to pursue a solo career. However, Lance thinks Harry should stick around now that One Direction has been reduced to a quartet. He believes that Harry is “meant for group.”

“You know what? If Harry wants to go solo, go solo eventually,” Lance said. “But for the fans, I would say that Harry should stick it out for a little bit, not leave and at least do another album together. Harry needs to do it for the fans! I think he owes it to them.”

One Direction fans will likely be praying that Harry Styles listens to Lance Bass’ advice, and Directioners may soon get to hear Harry’s own thoughts about his future with the group. According to E! News, he and the remaining members of One Direction are set to make their first talk show appearance since Zayn Malik left the group — the guys will appear on the May 14 episode of The Late Late Show with James Corden. Corden is pretty good pals with the band, so he should be able to get the boys to really open up about Zayn’s departure.

If you’re a Directioner who is still upset about Zayn Malik’s decision to the leave the group, perhaps The Vamps can help you out with that. Check out their silly-sad song about Zayn below.

[Image credit: Anthony Harvey/Getty]