--- title: Zayn Malik Speaks Out About Leaving One Direction description: "I feel like I'm doing what's right" canonical: https://time.com/3761234/zayn-malik-one-direction/ author: TIME article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2015-03-27T11:14:53.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-05-11T05:08:41.919Z article:section: Entertainment og:title: Zayn Malik Speaks Out About Leaving One Direction og:description: "I feel like I'm doing what's right" og:url: https://time.com/3761234/zayn-malik-one-direction/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt8be9667ffdcb0f73/698785892dce0161fc9de3c1/zayn-malik2.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 675 og:image:alt: Singer Zayn Malik of One Direction at the 2014 American Music Awards at Nokia Theatre in Los Angeles on Nov. 23, 2014. og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Zayn Malik Speaks Out About Leaving One Direction twitter:description: "I feel like I'm doing what's right" twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt8be9667ffdcb0f73/698785892dce0161fc9de3c1/zayn-malik2.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Zayn Malik Speaks Out About Leaving One Direction > Sponsored content. 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Blumm / People Mar 27, 2015 11:14 AM UTC [Zayn Malik](http://www.people.com/people/news/category/0,,personsTax:ZaynMalik,00.html) admits that even he was surprised by the worldwide reaction to his announcement that he was [leaving One Direction](http://www.people.com/article/zayn-malik-quits-one-direction). In an interview with [_The Sun_](http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/showbiz/6386045/WORLD-EXCLUSIVE-INTERVIEW-Zayn-Malik-tells-The-Sun-why-hes-quit-One-Direction.html?CMP=spklr-Editorial-TWITTER-TheSunNewspaper-20150327-Showbiz/Celebrity-161142952) newspaper in the U.K. on Friday, the 22-year-old said that the past week – which saw him [leave the band’s tour](http://www.people.com/article/zayn-malik-quit-one-direction-stress-cheating-sister-defends), return home to London and subsequently quit the band – has left him “feeling quite interesting.” But he doesn’t regret making the decision to walk away from the biggest boy band in the world. “It is crazy and wild and a bit mad,” he admitted in an interview conducted Thursday. “But at the same time I’ve never felt more in control in my life. And I feel like I’m doing what’s right – right by myself and right by the boys, so I feel good.” _This_ [_article_](http://www.people.com/article/zayn-malik-interview-speaks-why-quit-one-direction-feel-right) _originally appeared on_ [_People.com_](http://www.people.com)_._ _Read next:_ [_Why Zayn Malik Has the Makings of a Great Solo Star_](http://time.com/3758882/zayn-malik-one-direction-solo/?iid=time%5Freadnext) ### See One Direction Throughout the Years  Louis Tomlinson, Liam Payne, Harry Styles, Niall Horan and Zain Malik of One Direction perform at the BBC Teen Awards at Wembley arena in London, England in 2011. Dave Hogan—Getty Images  One Direction perform at the BBC Teen Awards at Wembley arena in London, England in 2011. Dave Hogan—Getty Images  One Direction perform at the BBC Teen Awards at Wembley arena in London, United Kingdom in 2011. Dave Hogan—Getty Images  One Direction perform at the BBC Teen Awards at Wembley arena in London, United Kingdom in 2011. Dave Hogan—Getty Images  Zayn Malik of One Direction performs at Nickelodeon's 25th Annual Kids' Choice Awards held at Galen Center in Los Angeles, Calif. in 2012. Christopher Polk—KCA2012/Getty Images  Louis Tomlinson, Niall Horan, Harry Styles, Liam Payne and Zayn Malik of One Direction perform at HMV Hammersmith Apollo in London, England in 2012. Joseph Okpako—FilmMagic/Getty Images  Louis Tomlinson, Zayn Malik, Niall Horan, Liam Payne and Harry Styles of One Direction pose during a portrait shoot at Fox Studios in Sydney, Australia in 2012. Sam Ruttyn—Newspix/Getty Images  Zayn Malik of One Direction performs on NBC's Today at Rockefeller Plaza in New York City in 2012. Slaven Vlasic—Getty Images  One Direction performs onstage during Z100's Jingle Ball 2012 at Madison Square Garden on in New York City in 2012. Kevin Kane—Getty Images for Jingle Ball 201  One Direction speaks onstage during the 2013 MTV Video Music Awards at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn in 2013. Theo Wargo—WireImage/Getty Images  One Direction performs onstage during the 2013 American Music Awards at Nokia Theatre L.A. Live in Los Angeles, Calif. in 2013. Christopher Polk—AMA2013/Getty Images  One Direction performs at the stage during their presentation as part of the tour "Where We Are Tour" at Velez Sarsfield Stadium on May 03, 2014 in Buenos Aires, Argentina. Cesar Quiroga—LatinContent/Getty Images  Guitarist Dan Richards and Niall Horan of One Direction perform onstage during the "Where We Are" tour at Met Life Stadium on Aug. 4, 2014 in New York City. Kevin Mazur—OneD/Getty Images  Zayn Malik of One Direction performs onstage during the "Where We Are" tour at Met Life Stadium on Aug. 4, 2014 in New York City. Kevin Mazur—OneD/Getty Images  Zayn Malik, Louis Tomlinson, Liam Payne, Niall Horan and Harry Styles on the One Direction TV special in 2014. Jeff Daly—NBC/Getty Images  Niall Horan of One Direction performs onstage during the 2014 iHeartRadio Music Festival at the MGM Grand Garden Arena on Sept. 20, 2014 in Las Vegas, NV. Denise Truscello—WireImage/Getty Images  Niall Horan of One Direction performs onstage during the 2014 iHeartRadio Music Festival at the MGM Grand Garden Arena on Sept. 20, 2014 in Las Vegas, NV. Christopher Polk—Getty Images  Liam Payne, Harry Styles, Zayn Malik, Louis Tomlinson and Niall Horan of One Direction perform onstage during the 2014 iHeartRadio Music Festival at the MGM Grand Garden Arena on Sept. 20, 2014 in Las Vegas, NV. Kevin Mazur—WireImage/Getty Images  Niall Horan of One Direction appears on NBC's Today Show to release their new album "Four" at Universal City Walk At Universal Orlando on Nov. 17, 2014 in Orlando, Fla. John Parra—WireImage/Getty Images  Amy Adams and One Direction members Zayn Malik, Liam Payne, Harry Styles, Louis Tomlinson and Niall Horan appear on Saturday Night Live on Dec. 18, 2014. Dana Edelson—NBC/Getty Images  Harry Styles performs on Saturday Night Live on Dec. 18, 2014. Dana Edelson—NBC/Getty Images  Louis Tomlinson, Liam Payne, Harry Styles, Zayn Malik and Niall Horan of One Direction perform on Saturday Night Live on Dec. 18, 2014. Dana Edelson—NBC/Getty Images [_Listen to the most important stories of the day._](http://time.com/newsletter/the-brief/?sl%5Fautoplay=true&xid=spl-fullbrief-article) ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/3761234/zayn-malik-one-direction/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/3761234/zayn-malik-one-direction/"},"headline":"Zayn Malik Speaks Out About Leaving One Direction","datePublished":"2015-03-27T11:14:53.000Z","dateModified":"2026-05-11T05:08:41.919Z","description":"\"I feel like I'm doing what's right\"","url":"https://time.com/3761234/zayn-malik-one-direction/","keywords":["celebrities"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt8be9667ffdcb0f73/698785892dce0161fc9de3c1/zayn-malik2.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"K.C. 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