One Direction came to the US, was short one member

Nov 19, 2014 12:41 GMT  ·  By
Zayn Malik is unhappy with Matt Lauer’s TV hint that he might be a drug addict
6 photos
   Zayn Malik is unhappy with Matt Lauer’s TV hint that he might be a drug addict

The boys from One Direction are promoting their new album, and earlier this week, they flew to the US to appear on The Today Show on NBC with Matt Lauer. Zayn Malik wasn’t with them, having been barred from traveling while he recovered from a nasty stomach bug, his mates explained.

However, Matt Lauer wasn’t entirely convinced. Either because he wanted to start some trouble (read: controversy, because that’s what always sells) or because he really hoped to find out something juicy from the other guys, he asked a few drug-related questions.

Zayn finds out about it and he’s fuming mad.

“There’s obviously a lot of concern”

It’s unusual for the 5-guy band to go out in the world on a promo appearance in a smaller formation. What made their Today appearance even more shocking was the fact that they didn’t just chat to Lauer about new music, they also performed for him – but mostly for the 15,000 fans who had come out in Orlando just to hear them live.

So whatever it was that got Zayn bedridden must have been serious. As you can see in the first video embedded below, Lauer didn’t exactly buy it that it was just a “tummy bug,” as his mate insisted.   

“There’s obviously a lot of concern, a lot of fans have been tweeting overnight. There’s been a lot of action on social media about him. Is it something more serious than just a minor illness? There have been rumors of substance abuse. What’s going on?” Lauer pressed them.

The rumors he’s referring to are more than just rumors: Zayn and bandmember Louis Tomlinson were involved in a huge scandal this year, when a video they’d shot on their way out of Peru, where they had performed with their tour, in which they were smoking weed, leaked online.

They had been plagued by drug use rumors before, but this is when things took a turn for the worse: not only did the video in question confirm talk that the boys weren’t as squeaky clean as the huge PR machine behind them would have the fans believe, but it also ignited speculation that they must be doing heavier drugs too.

So when Zayn was MIA on Lauer, he just put 2 and 2 together, and got the conclusion that Zayn must be in rehab or otherwise dealing with his substance abuse problem.

Zayn is upset, doesn’t appreciate the innuendo

Zayn found out about Lauer’s questions, so naturally, he’s feeling very angry right now. Speaking to The Sun, he says he couldn’t believe “what was said on the Today show,” because he really was at home, ill with a tummy bug.

Moreover, the innuendos that he’s secretly struggling with drug addiction only made his pain at missing out on the appearance worse, he explains.

Luckily, there’s something positive to come out of the story: once doctors give Zayn the OK to travel, he plans on joining the other 4 guys and be at all future meetings with the media and / or the fans. That’s a promise.

The other videos below are as follows: a follow-up on The Today with Twitter’s reaction to the news that he was out sick, and videos of the songs One Direction performed. If you’re a fan, wishing you to enjoy them is redundant.

One Direction discography (6 Images)

Zayn Malik is unhappy with Matt Lauer’s TV hint that he might be a drug addict
One Direction came into being on X Factor, in 2010, under Simon Cowell’s wingFirst One Direction album, “Up All Night,” came out one year later, in 2011
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