Liam Payne claims Zayn Malik "didn’t even say goodbye" when he left One Direction.
The ‘Strip That Down’ hitmaker admits it was a huge shock when Zayn decided to leave the band in the midst of their world tour in 2015 and Liam has confessed there are still some grudges.
Asked if there were still grudges held between members of the band, he said: "Definitely in some part, yeah. We had our differences throughout the whole experience with some things … Now we are older, for me certainly there are things that I am just not as bothered about.
"I think with Zayn’s particular exit and the way he chose to go, we haven’t really heard from him since he left. He didn’t even say goodbye, if I am being honest. It was a really sordid scenario, from our side certainly. A bit strange. It’s difficult."
Liam praised Zayn’s "amazing talent" and vocal abilities but admits it is tough for the singer because he finds it hard to perform on stage.
He added: "You just don’t know until you get there whether you’re built for this or not. For Zayn, he loves music and he’s an amazing talent. He genuinely was the best singer in One Direction, hand on heart, out of all of us. But for him to get to a point where, you know, he can’t step on a stage? It’s a lot. I mean, he’s doing great. His streaming numbers are ridiculous, but I do think he misses out on the performance side a bit, you know. He can’t seem to get past that part."
Liam tried to reach out to Zayn but didn’t know how best he could help.
Speaking to GQ Hype, he shared: "I didn’t want him to feel like he was going through this all alone in some ways, or that we were all out to get him. We’re the only people who know what you’re going through. The only five people who know what you are going through were all in a room together once, and you left – fair enough – but you don’t want anyone going through such evils for no reason. But it got to a point with me where I wouldn’t know where to begin with Zayn. I hope he has good people around him, but I don’t at this stage think it’s anything the rest of us can solve."
Liam Payne: Zayn Malik didn’t even say goodbye when he left 1D
