Simon Cowell Opens Up About Zayn Malik’s One Direction Split On ‘Late Late Show With James Corden’: Watch

Bianca Gracie | April 17, 2015 6:47 am
Leona Lewis Writes Emotional Letter To Fans
Leona Lewis took the rather unusual step of penning an emotional open letter to fans.

Many people have come forth to share their thoughts on Zayn Malik’s not-so-shocking departure from One Direction last month, from Ed Sheeran to Nick Jonas — and most recently the “Chains” singer’s older brother Joe. But now the band’s boss, Syco’s Simon Cowell, is speaking on the news.

The music mogul stopped by The Late Late Show With James Corden last night (April 16), where he chatted with the host about the former boy band member. The 55-year-old, who put the boys together during their auditions on The X Factor in 2010, said he was “ready to jump off a cliff” upon hearing the news. Naturally, Cowell tried to talk Zayn out of the decision: “I was trying to say to him he should stay around a bit longer. But something inside him said he’d had enough.”

Cowell also made sure the rest of the band members were handling the news well. “I dealt with it then I made sure the guys were OK – because they were shocked as well. So I had to respect his decision. For the boys it was interesting because they were in the middle of these live shows at the time,” he said.

The remaining members of One Direction recently posted a new promo photo sans their former member and they plan to release their fifth album this year, so it seems like they’re doing just fine.

Watch the interview up top, and let us know in the comments if you’re still wiping tears away since Zayn’s departure.

Get an eyeful of even more pop music coverage, from artist interviews to exclusive performances, on Idolator’s YouTube channel.