There was some drama between Liam Payne and Zayn Malik following One Direction‘s 2015 split, but where do they stand now?

Liam appeared to squash feud rumors in June 2023, after leaving a supportive comment under Zayn’s Instagram post teasing his new music. “This sounds big already,” Liam wrote. Zayn replied, “Appreciate it bro, thanks for the love.”

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

Are Liam Payne and Zayn Malik Still Friends?

Previously, the “Strip That Down” singer spoke 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.”

While Zayn never responded to the podcast interview, Liam did apologize in July 2023 for his past comments.

“One of the biggest remarks I made was about the One Direction thing … and a lot of self-protection, I suppose, in that moment, more than anything,” he recalled in a YouTube video. “The rest of the boys really stuck by me when I needed them most, they kinda came to the rescue. Even Zayn, as well, which is why I did send him a little thank you online. It came across really big-headed didn’t it?”

Liam added, “A lot of what I said came from the wrong place. I was so angry at what was going on around me and instead of taking a look inwards I decided to look outwards at everybody else and I just think yeah I took it out on everybody else, which is just wrong, really.”

Are Liam Payne and Zayn Malik Still Friends? Where They Stand After One Direction Drama
David Fisher/Shutterstock

The pair have not spoken publicly 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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