If there's someone among the One Direction members who have been getting the most flak when it comes to his attitude, it would have to be Zayn Malik. There have been a lot of issues concerning Malik and his former ex-One Direction band members, which may have given the impression that he has some attitude problems.
However, it was only until recently that Malik opened up about his anxiety, giving the impression that he was well aware of how the public perceived him. In an interview with Vogue, the "Pillow Talk" singer revealed that he has been having a hard time because although he is well aware that he is a public figure, there are times when he doesn't want to be in the spotlight.
According to Vogue, Zayn Malik revealed that his anxiety sometimes makes him feel uncomfortable facing throngs of audiences or a big crowd. His condition is definitely a big obstacle in his career as a performer since he has to face big crowds whenever he has to promote new songs or show up in a concert.
Feeling misunderstood
Because of his anxiety, Zayn Malik revealed that there were a lot of times when he was misinterpreted as an arrogant celebrity when in fact, it was just his condition making him act that way. There are times when he just instinctively clams up and desires to be by himself when he is exposed to a crowd.
Malik shared that he has always been an individual who is not comfortable being in the spotlight.
In fact, he shyly admitted that it had been almost a year since he has properly shown his face to the public. His current situation is quite ironic because although he has voiced out that he doesn't want to come off as an arrogant person, the fans end up looking at him in that kind of light.
Leaving One Direction
Another point which may have fueled the fans to believe that Zayn Malik is an aloof and arrogant celebrity is the fact that he was the first one to leave One Direction.
Loyal One Direction fans blamed him for the eventual disbandment of the popular boy band.
According to Entertainment Tonight, Malik left One Direction in 2015 to take a much-needed breather from the Public Eye. A few months after, specifically in March 2016, he released his own solo album entitled "Mind Of Mine."
This is not the first time that Zayn Malik talked about his battle with anxiety. In his 2016 memoir, he has already mentioned that anxiety was one of the reasons why he decided to leave One Direction and spend more time away from the public eye.