Just one week after dropping Zayn Malik’s demo “I Won’t Mind,” producer Naughty Boy is opening up about being there for Malik after he confirmed his departure from One Direction last month.
In an interview with Heat, Naughty Boy noted that the “I Won’t Mind” demo is actually from 1D’s Four recording sessions and further elaborated on what he and Zayn have been up to.
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One Direction Talks Future In First Interview Since Zayn Malik’s Exit
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“I’ve been his friend. He needs one. Just because we were seen at my studio – you [don’t] necessarily just make music,” he says. “People seem to forget that he’s under so much stress. Which is why he left the tour. There’s a lot going on. People get caught up – what he has done is to be normal. Sometimes being normal is to try and sort things out with your fiancee or hang around with a friend. That is normal.”
Zayn Malik Breaks Silence After Exiting One Direction
Not only did the U.K. producer stir up headlines with the demo, he appeared to incite Louis Tomlinson after he shared the demo and tweeted several messages (like this and this) that seemed to boast about his musical friendship with the former 1D singer.
“There seems to be some needless provoking going on. [Louis] was deliberately adding to the provoking. I don’t think that’s fair. Especially on Zayn, that’s not fair. Right now, there needs to be calm,” he says. “He could have said that to me privately. Doing it openly is another act of provocation that’s not needed.”