Are Liam Payne and Zayn Malik Still Friends After 1D Drama? Details

There was some drama between Liam Payne and Zayn Malik following One Direction‘s 2015 split, but where do they stand now? The “Strip That Down” singer has spoken candidly about their relationship following the band, even going so far as to say there are “many reasons” why he doesn’t like the “Pillowtalk” singer.

While appearing on the “Impaulsive” podcast with Logan Paul in May 2022, Liam added that there are also “many reasons” why “he’ll always be on [Zayn’s] side” as well.

“If I had had to go through what he went through, through his growth and whatever else,” Liam shared during the bombshell podcast episode. “My parents are overly supportive to the point where it’s annoying at times. Zayn had a different upbringing in that sense. You can always look at the man for where he is and say, ‘Oh yeah, whatever, that guy’s a d–k.’ But at the end of the day, once you’re understanding what he’s been through to get to that point — and also whether or not he wanted to be there.”

Zayn never responded to the podcast interview.

Keep reading to see where things between Liam and Zayn stand now. 

Are Liam Payne and Zayn Malik Still Friends?

The pair have not spoken about where they stand now. However, Liam has thrown some subtle shade at Zayn over the years.

“Zayn makes music but he doesn’t really perform. For him, he had such performance anxiety that he just couldn’t put his head around it. I remember watching his first solo performance [and] it went really great. The graphics they did around him and everything else,” Liam said on the “Killing It” podcast in April 2020. “I think he is just kind of happy. He likes going to the studio, making the songs, he just doesn’t want to do anything that happens after that. But he is streaming hugely.”

A little over a year later, Liam also poked fun at Zayn’s March 2015 departure from the group.

“Forgot I made this a while ago,” the former X Factor member captioned a September 2021 TikTok. “Hope you see the funny side.”

Liam could be seen mouthing along to a sound that said, “Are we absolutely sure what direction we’re going?” He added text to the screen that read, “POV the meeting after Zayn quit.”

Are Liam Payne and Zayn Malik Feuding?

Despite the shade over the years, Liam has made it clear that he and Zayn have no actual bad blood.

“I’ve spoken to Zayn since and it’s all fine and good, it is what it is. If he feels hurt and scorned in some sort of way that I don’t really understand, that’s down to him so there we go,” Liam said on “The Dan Wootton Interview” podcast in May 2017. “It is very sad because One Direction was a wonderful, wonderful time in all of our lives. It was so much fun and I don’t understand how you can come out of that experience and say the things that he says sometimes, it doesn’t make any sense to me, but there you go.”

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