Simon Cowell insists One Direction's future is 'bright' despite Zayn exit
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Simon Cowell believes that One Direction’s future is bright despite Zayn Malik’s shock exit last month.
Speaking to In:Demand Showbiz at the Britain’s Got Talent launch in London last night, the 1D mentor admitted he knew Zayn was unhappy but it still came as a surprise when he called it quits.
“I knew for a while that (Zayn) was thinking about the future,” Simon said. “It did come as a bit of a shock but I have to look after him and I have to look after the boys. If somebody doesn’t want to do something, you shouldn’t make them do it.”
Despite the shockwaves felt within One Direction in the aftermath of the exit, Simon believes that Niall, Louis, Liam and Harry still have their best days ahead of them.
He added: “Interestingly with the guys, within days, once they got over the shock, they were united, strong, they put on some incredible shows afterwards so the future is bright.”
The comments come in the wake of the unveiling of the new One Direction tour poster, which doesn’t feature Zayn.
Simon also downplayed the Twitter feud between Naughty Boy and Louis Tomlinson immediately after Zayn’s departure.
Super producer Naughty Boy shared a demo he put together with Zayn called ‘I Won’t Mind’ causing Louis to accuse him of “needlessly provoking” fans. Commenting on the feud, Simon told us: “That was just a little spat that happened, people were getting a bit emotional but that’s all calmed down.
“The only thing that really matters actually is that the boys are happy – all of them – the fans are happy because they’ve been loyal. Everyone wants to make great records at the moment so I think that’s the focus.”