One Direction Discusses Zayn Malik's Departure with James Corden: We Were a Little Bit Angry

It was the interview One Direction fans had been waiting for – all four remaining members of the band sat down with their pal James Corden for an interview on Thursday’s Late Late Show.

And it didn’t take long for Corden to grill them about Zayn Malik’s departure from the band.

“Are you in touch with him, have you spoken to him?” he asked Louis Tomlinson.

“Yeah, there’s been a bit of back and forth,” he said, as the audience laughed at what he didn’t mention – the pair’s run-ins on social media. “I think we’re on good terms with him.”

When Corden asked about the Twitter feud, Tomlinson smiled and said, “I’ve never been very good at biting my tongue, maybe I get it off my mom. It’s just one of those things. Twitter’s great for connecting with the fans but also if you feel like saying something you probably shouldn’t, it’s also good for that as well. Or bad in this case.”

But Tomlinson added that he has been in touch with Malik since then and “it’s all good in the hood.”

Liam Payne then explained how he felt when he learned that Malik was leaving the group.

“At first we were a little bit angry. We were surprised, but I think we all knew the general vibe that Zayn was feeling,” he said. “There were certain parts of this job that Zayn loved and certain parts of the job that he didn’t. If you don’t like your job, you’ve got to follow your heart sometimes and go where you need to go. There’s no argument with that.”

He admitted that the band was disappointed, but insisted there were no hard feelings: “We wish him the best of luck with whatever he gets up to.”

Zayn’s Best Moments with One Direction

Niall Horan told Corden that he hadn’t thought of calling it quits when Malik left. “The four of us love every part of it and the shows have been great on the tour,” he said. “We’re looking forward to bringing out a new record, going on more tours and stuff, and we’re really enjoying it.”

Then Corden asked Harry Styles if they’d thought of bringing someone else into the band – “maybe a British guy, with the voice of an angel; dance is his life.”

“No,” Styles quickly replied.

“Not even for a split second,” Corden pressed.

“No,” said Styles.

And that prompted Corden to pat Tomlinson on the arm and say, “You’ve always been my favorite.”