Zayn Malik, the former One Direction star, has given his first interview in six years to Alex Cooper’s podcast Call Her Daddy. The singer discussed his personal and professional life, including his daughter Khai, his anxiety issues, and his departure from the boy band.
Malik said he decided to do the interview because he wanted to be a good example for his daughter, whom he shares with ex-girlfriend Gigi Hadid. “Since I have had my daughter, the main thing in my mind is trying to be a good example for her,” he said. “I used to get a lot of anxiety but now I am doing this because I want her to look at me and say ‘My dad’s doing this’.”
He also revealed that he is working on a new record that will surprise his fans with a different sound and more narrative. “I’m doing a record I don’t think people are really gonna expect, it’s a different sound for me,” he said. “And it’s got some more narrative going on, like real-life experiences and stuff. My daughter’s mentioned in there a couple of times.”
Malik also addressed his time in One Direction and why he left the group in 2015. He said he felt “overexposed” and “politicized” by the band’s management and media. He said he was not comfortable with being labeled as “the mysterious one” and that he just wanted to be himself. “They just said, ‘Oh yeah, you can be the mysterious one.’ That wasn’t necessarily my personality, I’m just chill,” he said. “I know that a lot of people have high-energy personalities, and it’s just not the way I am.”
He added that he still has love for his former bandmates and that he hopes they can reconnect someday. “I feel like we were so overexposed in the band that that’s why I took the time that I have to not even necessarily do interviews,” he said. “But I feel like if we ever did get back together or whatever, it would be cool because we’ve had time to grow as individuals and as people.”
