Let’s get one thing out of the way: I am not a morning person. That is, unless, a massive celebrity (who I definitely didn’t write fanfiction about) shows up for his first interview in six (!!!) years. Screw an alarm clock — my internal body alarm sounded as soon as the episode dropped. And if you haven’t guessed by now, I’m talking about Zayn Malik’s appearance on one of Gen Z’s biggest podcasts, Call Her Daddy. With over six years of tea brewing, I know I wasn’t alone in my anticipation for the interview — especially when it comes to his infamous altercation with Yolanda Hadid.
Now, if you’re unfamiliar with Zayn Malik, 1) did you not have Wattpad? and 2) I’ll give you the SparkNotes: Malik rose to stardom after appearing on The X Factor UK as a member of the hit boyband, One Direction. After auditioning as soloists, Simon Cowell mentored Malik, Liam Payne, Louis Tomlinson, Niall Horan, and Harry Styles into forming a musical group. One Direction garnered a massive fanbase and took the world by storm — that is, until Mailk left the band in 2015. Shortly after, the band broke up and continued to form their solo careers.
Malik went on to release several albums, but also made a pop culture splash after dating and having a child with supermodel Gigi Hadid. The two were linked in 2015, and dating speculations swirled after Hadid starred in the music video for Malik’s song, “Pillowtalk,” in 2016. After that, the two attended red carpets and went on vacations together before breaking up in 2018. But wait! It’s not over! Hadid and Malik actually got back together, and ended up having a child together in September 2020. However, drama struck the couple after accusations of a domestic dispute between Malik and Hadid’s mother, Yolanda, went public.
Not much is known of the incident, but a police report states that Malik allegedly “struck” Yolanda during an argument in their Bucks County ranch. Malik pleaded no contest to the charges in October 2021 and asked for the public to respect his privacy in an Instagram statement.
So, with all of that being said, I was waiting for Call Her Daddy‘s host, Alex Cooper, to ask about the dispute. And, to my surprise, she and Malik actually had a pretty interesting conversation about it.
Malik dealt with the situation “the best he could.”
During the interview, Cooper revealed that she “wouldn’t be doing her job” if she didn’t ask about the 2021 incident with Malik and Yolanda. Cooper also acknowledged that, legally, there isn’t much Malik could say about the situation, but what he did say definitely gave us an idea of his perception of the event.
“I knew what the situation was. I knew what happened, and the people involved knew what happened too,” Malik said. “And that’s all I really cared about. I believe you could respect that I just didn’t want to bring attention to anything, I just wasn’t trying to get into a negative back and forth with her [or] any sort of narrative online where my daughter was going to look back and read that.”
Malik went on to add, “I believe I dealt with it in the best way — in an amicable, respectful way.”
Despite the altercation, co-parenting is “good” between Malik and Hadid.
It’s evident in the video that Malik’s child, Khai, is his No. 1 priority. So, it’s no wonder that the former boyband member takes co-parenting pretty seriously. Splitting custody equally with Hadid, Malik provided a quick anecdote as to how things are going between himself and Hadid.
“We have a really good relationship for Khai, she’s the main importance,” Malik said. “So, it’s going well… I think.”
While Malik may not have gotten super deep into the whole Yolanda situation, his brief and delicate commentary was all I need to hear to get closure. Now, if this man can just drop an album already, I’d be able to move on happily.