Zayn Malik found One Direction fan fiction "unnerving".
The 23-year-old singer left the chart-topping boy band in March 2015, and has admitted that whilst he has read some fan fiction – in which the followers of the group write stories about the members, often in sexual situations – it wasn’t something that appealed to him.
Writing in his upcoming autobiography ‘Zayn’, he said: "When I was still in One Direction, fans would write stories based on me and the other lads and publish them online. I’m not gonna lie, it’s pretty unnerving reading things about yourself as a character from somebody else’s imagination.
"It’s crazy to think that we inspired so many different stories and the opportunity for so much creativity from so many people all over the world."
However, the ‘Pillowtalk’ hitmaker goes on to state that it’s "cool" to see how many fans engaged with the band "on their own terms".
And whilst Zayn – who boasts drawing as one of his hobbies – might not have liked fan fiction, he admits he is a huge supporter of art as he loves seeing "talented people" share their drawings with him.
He explained: "My favourite stuff, personally, is fan art. I love seeing how many different ways people interpret my lyrics and my style, and it’s so cool that they share that with me. It’s also weirdly touching to see how many talented people out there choose to apply that talent to something connected with me and my music. It’s really humbling."
The news comes after the ‘Like I Would’ musician revealed in another excerpt from his book that he felt relieved to finally be able to sing about sex when he left the boy band – completed by members Harry Styles, Niall Horan, Louis Tomlinson, and Liam Payne – who are currently on a hiatus.
He wrote: "Every lyric I’ve ever written has a story behind it. All the hard work that went into the creation of ‘Pillowtalk’ was worthwhile because, as soon as it was finished, I intuitively felt I was on the right path.
"It was a sick cut, nailing the exact sound I wanted to capture in my music. I was also able to sing about a subject that I hadn’t really been able to go near while I was in One Direction: sex."
Zayn Malik: Fan fiction is ‘unnerving’
