Zayn Malik Of One Direction Angry With Matt Lauer After “Substance Abuse” Comments On ‘Today’

Zayn Malik is not pleased with Today’s Matt Lauer after the news anchor suggested Malik might have been absent from the band’s Today show appearance due to ‘substance abuse.’

Matt Lauer Asks “Where Is Zayn?”

One Direction’s Harry Styles, Liam Payne, Niall Horan and Louis Tomlinson joined Lauer to celebrate the release of their new album, Four, on Monday, Nov. 17, and, while fans were extremely disappointed that Malik couldn’t make it, the band assured them that Malik was fine and merely suffering from “a tummy bug.”

It was clear, however, from Lauer’s Twitter feed that the anchor wouldn’t be letting Malik’s absence go unnoticed.

So, Lauer pressed the band members further: “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?”

Tomlinson appeared caught off guard by the question, but Payne shut down any rumors, saying, “No, he’s just got a stomach bug. He’s okay. He’s just at home. He just needs to rest. He’s okay.”

Zayn Malik Angry At Matt Lauer

Malik was infuriated by Lauer’s implications, telling the Sun, “I’m really angry and upset by what was said on the Today show. I was really ill that weekend, that’s why I couldn’t fly to America…I was gutted to have to miss album release day, but I’m going to be back as soon as I can. As soon as I’m feeling better I’m going to join the guys and carry on with the promotion for the album.”

#ZaynIsBack

On Tuesday night, Malik was able to reunite with his bandmates in Orlando for a performance, later taking to Twitter to celebrate his return.