Here’s Why Harry Styles and Zayn Malik Never Spoke to Each Other Since Their ‘One Direction’ Split
Harry Styles and Zayn Malik had been struggling with a 'silent feud' during their One Direction days. Malik was the first member to quit the boy band in 2015, creating an unfathomable void between himself and the other members forever. Later, the Night Changes hitmaker revealed that "he made no friends while in One Direction" and that he "didn't like their music". Styles roasted Malik in 2019 on Saturday Night Live by referring to him as Ringo Starr, referring to Starr's legendary exit from the Beatles.
Styles and Malik never got along, and they two intend to keep it that way. In Malik's words while speaking with Hello Magazine in 2017, "To be honest, I never really spoke to Harry even when I was in the band. So I didn't really expect that much of a relationship with him."
Recently, in his first-ever interview in over six years, the Steal My Girl hitmaker opened up about leaving the boy band first to grow his solo career. "I don't want to go into too much detail, but there was a lot of politics going on; certain people were doing certain things; certain people didn't want to sign contracts, so I knew something was happening," he said. "I'm passive, dude, but when it comes to my music and my business, I'm serious about it and I'm competitive, so I wanted to be the first to go and do my own thing," Malik added. As per The Things, fans believed that Malik was jealous about Styles' solo career because he praised Niall Horan as his "favorite" band member: "Niall is my favorite. Niall makes the best music...Yeah, he makes better music than me. I'm a Niall fan," he stated in an interview on SiriusXM. This statement came out while Styles received three Grammy nominations and won one of them, whereas Malik did not receive even a single Grammy nomination.
.@ZaynMalik reveals on SiriusXM that Niall Horan was his “favorite” member of One Direction, and that he also makes the best music out of the group as solo artists:
— Pop Crave (@PopCrave) March 19, 2021
“Niall is my favorite. Niall makes the best music... Yeah, he makes better music than me. I’m a Niall fan.” pic.twitter.com/qiazlqFpRb
During hosting and performing on Saturday Night Live, Styles made a reference to his boy-band days, saying, "I love those guys, they're my brothers: Niall, Liam, Louis, and, uh, Ringo, yeah, that's it." He subtly snubbed the Right Now singer for leaving the band and causing its subsequent hiatus in 2015. In a 2017 exclusive interview with Rolling Stone, Styles responded to Malik's comment on One Direction's music not being 'cool.' Styles said, "I think it's a shame he felt that way ... but I never wish anything but luck to anyone doing what they love." He added, "If you're not enjoying something and need to do something else, you absolutely should do that. I'm glad he's doing what he likes, and good luck to him."
and.. ringo 😭 #OneDirection2020 #HarryStyles #NiallHoran #LiamPayne #LouisTomlinson #ZaynMalik #LarryStylinson pic.twitter.com/n5KM4EgxtP
— no (@strawqerriez) June 3, 2020
Malik had gone on record with Rolling Stone calling One Direction music something one would not listen to, "That's not music I would listen to...Would you listen to One Direction at a party with your girl? I wouldn't." He continued, "To me, that's not an insult, that's me as a 22-year-old man. As much as I was in that band, and I loved everything that we did, that's not music that I would listen to. I want to make music that I think is cool s***. I don't think that's too much to ask for."
Styles did not mince his words while discussing Malik's exit from the band on The Howard Stern Show, "I don't know if I could say it's something he shouldn't have done. I just didn't feel that way. So, it's hard for me to condemn it 'cause I don't." He added, "Especially in hindsight, looking at it now, the last thing that I would've wanted is for him to have stayed there if he didn't want to be there."
As for a reunion, Styles feels it will happen only when everyone is in the right frame of mind. Styles told Another Man magazine that a One Direction reunion would never be ruled out. He thinks it is good for the members to be "exploring different things," but if a reunion were to happen when everyone felt comfortable, it would be "amazing."
References:
https://www.thethings.com/are-harry-styles-and-zayn-malik-friends-today/
https://www.hellomagazine.com/celebrities/2017091342380/zayn-malik-feud-harry-styles/
https://www.rollingstone.com/feature/harry-styles-new-direction-119432/
https://www.anothermanmag.com/library/9893/harry-styles
