Simon Cowell Calls Zayn Malik ‘Rude’ For Slamming One Direction

Former One Direction band member Zayn Malik dissed the boy band in an interview earlier this year, and Simon Cowell wasn’t going to have it.

The comments Malik made, that Cowell disapproved of, came from his cover story in Fader magazine. In the December/January edition of the publication, Zayn griped about how he was not afforded the creative freedom he wanted while he was in One Direction. Malik made it clear that this was one of the reasons he left the boy band.

Zayn said that while he was recording, if he sang a song in a different style than what was wanted, he would have to record it over and over again until it sounded more like pop. Malik said that the management had a certain style in mind for the band, and that it was “generic as f—.” Malik indicated that his creative contributions were not heard.

“There was never any room for me to experiment creatively in the band… Whenever I would suggest something, it was like it didn’t fit us.”

Malik said that he wasn’t invested into the music the management of One Direction was trying to sell. Zayn felt that he “wasn’t 100 percent behind the music.” He didn’t like the music the band was selling, and Malik believed that it didn’t represent him.

“It wasn’t me. It was music that was already given to us, and we were told this is what is going to sell to these people. As much as we were the biggest, most famous boy band in the world, it felt weird. We were told to be happy about something that we weren’t happy about.”

On Sunday, Simon Cowell had a few words to say concerning the remarks Malik made about the band and its writing process. Cowell, whose record label SyCo signed Zayn and the rest of One Direction, shut down the accusations Zayn made about One Direction’s creative freedom, according to People. Cowell indicated that each member, including Malik, had their say in writing the songs, and that the song writing itself was a “very, very democratic process.”

Cowell said that he felt it was wrong for Zayn to call the songs “generic,” as it was offensive to the people involved in the writing process, including Malik’s former bandmates, Harry Styles, Niall Horan, Liam Payne, and Louis Tomlinson. Business Insider reports that Simon made it clear that Zayn and the rest of One Direction made a big contribution to the song writing.

“It is 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.”

Malik has co-song writing credits on 11 of One Direction’s songs.

When Zayn quit the boy band 9 months ago, Cowell only gave the matter a small amount of his attention before returning back to the four boys left in One Direction. Simon indicated that the band was what was most important to him at the time, and he didn’t think much about Zayn after the 22-year-old left.

“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.”

Simon believes that Zayn will eventually come to change his opinion of his time in One Direction.

“I think once he has had a chance to reflect on everything he will probably reconsider what he’s said.”

As far as what’s in store for Malik, his solo debut album is set to release in early 2016. Zayn says that right now he’s focusing on music that represents him better, and that he just wants “to make music that I think is cool s—.”

Read more about what Zayn Malik had to say in his cover story in Fader magazine.

[Photo by Kevin Winter/Getty Images]