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Zayn Malik has quit the One Direction tour, at least for now. Gossip Cop can confirm the singer has temporarily left his boy band mates, flying back to England from Asia, where the stadium-filling group is performing.
“Zayn has signed off with stress and is flying back to the UK to recuperate,” a spokesperson for the band said in statement to Gossip Cop. “The band wish him well and will continue with their performances in Manila and Jakarta.” It has not been made clear when Malik plans to return to the stage. He has not tweeted since the news was announced on Thursday. #HaveAGoodRestZayn quickly became a worldwide Twitter trending topic.
One Direction is set to perform in South Africa at the end of March, and Malik could be back with Louis Tomlinson, Niall Horan, Liam Payne and Harry Styles by then. As of now, no band member has commented on Malik’s temporary departure. Gossip Cop will have updates.
On Wednesday, the singer responded to rumors that he was cheating on fiancee Perrie Edwards by tweeting, “I’m 22 years old… I love a girl named Perrie Edwards. And there’s a lot of jealous f*cks in this world I’m sorry for what it looks like x.”
A month ago, Malik left a One Direction concert in Perth, Australia early when he felt too sick to continue performing. And Malik also was memorably absent from the band’s “Today Show” concert in Orlando last November. As Gossip Cop reported then, when the singer was a no-show, Matt Lauer asked the other members on live television if Malik’s absence was due to rumors of “substance abuse.”
Earlier on Thursday, Gossip Cop reported the Philippines government demanded One Direction band members post “weed bonds” in advance of their Saturday and Sunday concerts in Manila. Last year, you’ll recall, Malik and Tomlinson were caught on video smoking pot. The Philippine government set a bond for both Tomlinson and Malik at nearly $5,000 each to be paid by the concert’s producer. It was stipulated that if either singer was found with drugs or in some manner promoted its use while in the country, the bond would be forfeited.
