Niall Horan And Zayn Malik Share Awkward Handshake At AMAs

Former One Direction bandmates Niall Horan and Zayn Malik shared an awkward handshake at the American Music Awards Sunday night.

NIALL HORAN AND ZAYN MALIK AWKWARD HANDSHAKE

Malik left the band in early 2015, and the rest of the band has since split up in order to pursue their individual achievements. Horan and Malik were both present at the AMAs, and were even both nominated in the same category for Best New Artist. Zayn won that award in the end, and even quipped, “This just has my name on it, right?”

During the ceremony, Niall walked down an aisle past where Zayn was sitting. Niall didn’t even stop, but gave Zayn a quick handshake as he walked past. Zayn didn’t seem to realize what had happened until after Niall was gone, and then he went back to the conversation he was having with whomever he was sitting next to. Reports say Niall can be heard saying, “Hey bro,” followed by Zayn’s response of “You alright?” Perhaps the brief encounter was appropriate, given the nature of the award show situation, or perhaps it speaks to a quiet feud between ex-bandmates. Zayn allegedly hasn’t spoken to the ex-One Directioners for months.

While Zayn has hit success in his solo career since last year, Niall has also started to gain fame for his. His song “This Town” hit the number 1 spot on the Billboard charts, and he was met with a raving audience when he performed it live at the AMAs. In fact, Niall broke a Billboard record with the songs success, becoming the first artist to debut at #1 on the Billboard Social 50 chart.

Zayn paved himself another awkward moment last night when he accepted his Best New Artist award. He forgot to think his on-again off-again girlfriend Gigi Hadid for her love and support, despite the fact that the model was the host of the award show. “I can’t thank the people that have been with me every day the past year enough. Standing here is crazy,” the 23-year-old said. “My mom, my dad, everybody in my family that’s been supporting me the past year, especially my dad.”