Simon Cowell regrets making a joke about Zayn Malik leaving his One Direction recently, the band he put together on X Factor UK.
One Direction presented Cowell with an award at the Music Industry Trusts event earlier this week, and Cowell took it as an opportunity to joke about the missing member from the boy band.
“Guys, who misses Zayn?” Cowell joked to Liam Payne, Harry Styles, Louis Tomlinson and Niall Horan. “We all get old but I’ve still got charisma,” Cowell continued after the audience laughed.
Cowell talked about his joke to New York's Fresh 102.7 after dealing with backlash from One Direction fans.
"I just kind of thought when I was standing on stage with them, that they were back to being five, and I saw myself [being a part of] One Direction for a moment,” Cowell explained, according to the Daily Mail.
“That's when I made that quip, ‘Who needs Zayn?’ which of course backfired hugely. So I apologize to any Zayn fans out there – it was meant as a joke,” Cowell continued.
Malik quit One Direction back in March.