Liam Payne confirms Zayn Malik is not part of One Direction reunion, fans say he 'can never be replaced'
After Liam Payne revealed that One Direction was in talks to reunite for their tenth anniversary in July, he has now seemingly confirmed that Zayn Malik would not be a part of it and fans are naturally upset.
Speaking to DJ Alesso during an Instagram live, Liam shared that he was told off by Louis Tomlinson for revealing too much about their reunion already, adding that they were trying to organize their first "Facetime Moment".
However, it was his following comment that has drawn the ire of the fandom. He told Alesso, "You can come fill in for Zayn."
Despite fans speculating on whether Zayn, who left the group in 2015, would be a part of the reunion or not, Liam's comment essentially confirms that he would not be.
Fans are stating that if the reunion does not include him, "then we don’t want it chile." Others took issue with Liam implying someone could fill in for the ex-member, tweeting "Zayn will never be replaceable."
Others took shots at Liam and Louis, saying "Liam and Louis can't wait to have a bit of relevance again," and insinuating that "Liam needs this reunion the most so he can see the top 100 again."
Few others took shots at the solo careers of some of the members, tweeting "not 1D coming back since their solo careers tanked except for Harry and Zayn of course," and "lmao it’s gonna be just Liam and Louis cause the others are doing just fine."
Many also noticed that the talks of this reunion generally feature Liam, Louis and Niall Horan's names, stating "Lol the fact we know Zayn and Harry have been avoiding him since he only talks about talking to Niall and Louis, as they should."
But amid the anger, some fans were perfectly fine with the blatant Zayn exclusion. One fan stated, "They are leaving Zayn out of this and we are happy." Others wanted the band to leave Zayn alone, tweeting "keep Zayn out of your mouth."
Some stated simply that they "stan only Zayn Malik." A few fans also wondered why the remaining 1D members couldn't stop mentioning Zayn if they had no intention of including him in their plans.
One fan said, "They gotta get over this weird obsession they have with Zayn," while another joked, "Zayn needs to file that restraining order ASAP, these white men are way too thirsty for him."
And a few others had different ideas entirely, tweeting "Who cares about a reunion when we want a BTS x Zayn Collab." The cross-fandom love was much appreciated, as a 1D fan responded saying, "the k-pop community stanning Zayn is what I live for."