Liam Payne took to Twitter on Thursday to address reactions to his recent comments about former One Direction mate Zayn Malik.
The singer, who came under fire after weighing in on Malik's 2021 legal woes, said he “didn’t articulate myself as well as I could have.”
Malik, who left the group before it split up, pleaded no contest last October to harassing his ex Gigi Hadid and her mother Yolanda Hadid. He had been charged with four counts of criminal harassment following an explosive argument in which he "communicated lewd, lascivious, threatening or obscene words.”
When the incident came up while Payne was a guest on Impulsive with Logan Paul, he said: “There's many reasons why I dislike Zayn and there's many reasons why I'll always, always be on his side. If I had had to go through what he went through – through his growth and whatever else... 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.’ Right? But at the end of the day, once you understand what he's been through to get to that point – and also whether or not he actually wanted to be there.”
On Thursday, Payne tweeted: “Guys - I wouldn’t normally comment on this stuff but when its your family it’s hard to let it slide. They mentioned a specific incident involving Zayn which I responded to – but listening back maybe I didn’t articulate myself as well as I could have.
"I was saying that there will always be things we disagree on but that I will always, always be on his side. That’s family. Zayn is my brother and I will stand by him forever.”