Insiders: Marijuana use has made Zayn Malik ‘aggressive,’ ‘paranoid’
Zayn Malik may need to chill on his marijuana use.
Close sources told The Post that the singer and former One Direction member has been known to smoke weed to the point that he becomes “aggressive” and “paranoid.”
These allegations come on the heels of Malik, 28, pleading no contest to harassing Yolanda Hadid, the maternal grandmother of his 1-year-old daughter, Khai, whom he shares with his ex-girlfriend, supermodel Gigi Hadid.
The Post is told by a top attorney (not involved in the case) that the incident may have repercussions for any future custody case over Khai — although, sources say, Gigi is determined to co-parent with Malik and thinks he’s a great dad.
Malik has also lost his record contract with RCA after his third solo album, “Nobody Is Listening,” failed to light up the charts when it was released in January, only reaching No. 44 on the US Billboard 200.
“Zayn feels like life is out to get him. He genuinely finds it hard to deal with the level of fame he had, and that comes out as if he’s ungrateful and arrogant,” said a music executive who has worked with him. “If he was a bit more open about talking about his issues, I think that people would warm to him.”
But this type of troubling behavior is nothing new to those who know him.
Malik freely admits it helps the “creative process … if you’re smoking a good weed,” and was seen smoking a joint while on tour with One Direction in South America in 2014.
He was seen smoking marijuana in a 6 a.m. Instagram Live this January, prompting fans to wonder whether Khai was in the house.
One insider who worked frequently with the band fondly known as 1D told The Post that Malik’s marijuana use got so bad that it made him “paranoid” — and led to former bandmate Harry Styles refusing to share a tour bus and private jet with him.
“Zayn wasn’t happy in the band, it wasn’t for him,” the insider said. “He didn’t like the whole constantly touring thing and being given a schedule.
“He was just so difficult that he wouldn’t turn up for stuff, like photo shoots or even gigs. He would block himself in the house, smoking loads of weed, and it made him really unreliable,” added the insider.
According to another record executive who worked with the band: “You just didn’t know when Zayn was going to turn up, whether for a recording session or a concert.”
A representative for Malik did not respond to requests for comment.
One Direction was famously formed by Simon Cowell on the UK TV talent show “The X Factor” back in 2010. Malik, Styles, Niall Horan, Liam Payne and Louis Tomlinson all auditioned as solo candidates before being put together, then went on to become the top-earning boy band of all time, with an estimated fortune of $340 million.
The insider said: “In the beginning, Zayn was quite sweet. He just became a different person. When you are smoking weed to that extent, it really affects you.
“Zayn became aggressive. He was very aggressive towards the end of the band, having fierce rows with people he worked with. He never takes responsibility for anything — it’s always someone else’s fault.”
Malik’s marijuana use “drove a wedge” between him and the other band members, the insider added. “He’d just be on the tour bus [smoking] all the way to the venue. It led Harry to get a separate tour bus with Niall and Liam — Louis would join Zayn. Harry wouldn’t fly with Zayn either.”
Styles’ rep had no comment.
Malik quit the band in March 2015, citing “stress.” At the time the band was just two months into their On the Road Again Tour. In a statement at the time, Malik said: “I’d like to apologize to the fans if I’ve let anyone down, but I have to do what feels right in my heart. I am leaving because I want to be a normal 22-year-old who is able to relax and have some private time out of the spotlight.”
He later said he was left so unhappy in the band that he suffered from an eating disorder, writing in his 2016 autobiography, “Zayn”: “When I look back at images of myself … before the final tour, I can see how ill I was … Food was something I could control, so I did.”
As for the four remaining band members, who went on to split a year later, “Everyone was pleased that Zayn had gone, to be honest, he was not nice to be around — very arrogant,” the insider said.
After Malik left, the rest of the 1D boys were “pissed off” when he gave interviews saying he hated their music, according to a music producer who worked with them. “They took offense to that.”
Initially, Malik’s solo career looked promising.
Adopting an alternative R&B style with his debut studio album, “Mind of Mine,” in 2016 after signing with RCA, and its lead single, “Pillowtalk,” Malik became the first British male artist to debut at No. 1 in both the UK and US, with his debut single and debut album.
“At first I thought, ‘Oh, wow, Zayn’s going to be a hit.’ But he’s released loads of music now and it’s flopped,” the producer said.
Malik also signed for a time with widely respected Brit music manager Sarah Stennett, who oversees Bebe Rexha and Rita Ora’s careers.
“Sarah couldn’t control him,” said the producer. “Look, even the biggest, hottest stars, from Adele to Dua Lipa, have to play the game. There’s a certain amount of stuff they all sign up to do to be successful.”
In 2016, Malik was minutes away from London’s Wembley Stadium, where he was due to co-headline Capital Radio’s Summertime Ball, when he pulled out of the gig. “His camp said, ‘He’s on his way,’ and then he just turned his car around and left,” the producer said. Malik has also walked out on recent interviews with GQ and Billboard, leaving journalists baffled.
Malik’s personal life has been no less troubled. His former fiancée, Perrie Edwards of the girl group Little Mix, revealed how he broke off their engagement in 2015.
In the 2016 book “One World,” Edwards wrote: “It was horrible, the worst time in my life. A four-year relationship, two-year engagement ended by a simple text message. Just like that.”
Malik later told The Fader magazine that he has too much respect for Edwards “to end anything over text message.”
He met Gigi Hadid at a party in 2015 and took her out to dinner at NYC’s Bowery Hotel. Their on-again, off-again romance has been the stuff of countless headlines, and in September 2020, the couple welcomed baby girl Khai. Gigi told Vogue that she endured a 14-hour home birth at their farm in Bucks County, Pa. (Only medicinal marijuana is legal in Pennsylvania.)
One music executive who worked with One Direction told The Post that Malik had been craving a family life. “Zayn finds it very hard to trust people. He was brought up in a tough town by a single mom, so his issues all go back a long while.
“He felt betrayed and let down by people. A lot of people sold him out. All the [One Direction] boys got sold out at times by people who they thought were friends, so trusting people is not the easiest thing,” the exec said. “I would imagine it took a long time to build that trust with Gigi and her family. He found them when he really needed it. They scooped him up.”
Malik and Gigi bought a farm close to her mom, where he got into horse riding and growing vegetables. Speaking of Yolanda, he told GQ in 2018: “We get on. She’s really f—ing cool. She’s a Capricorn. She’s the same star sign as me.”
He also praised Gigi for getting his life on track when he was partying too hard. “I had a very negative outlook on things. That might have been adolescence or testosterone or whatever the f–k was running through my body at the time,” he told GQ. “She’s helped me to look at things from a positive angle.”
Malik is now, however, legally banned from going near Yolanda — whose own pursuit of fame on Bravo show “The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills” allegedly led to the breakdown of her marriage to music producer David Foster in 2015, sources told People magazine.
Last week, Malik pleaded no contest to four counts of harassment after allegedly pushing Yolanda into a dresser and calling her a “f–king Dutch slut” in a fight at the home he shared with Gigi in Pennsylvania. Malik has denied pushing Yolanda.
Court papers show that he must now complete 360 days of probation in addition to completing an anger management class.
He must also have no contact with John McMahon, a security guard for the Hadid family who witnessed the incident and whom he also allegedly harassed, as he reportedly screamed: “Get the f–k out of my f—ing house, copper.” At some point in the dispute, he allegedly referred to fathering Khai with the “f–king sperm that came out of my f–king c–k,” according to documents filed in court.
The court docs also say Malik called Gigi — who was in Paris to walk the Fashion Week shows — and yelled to her: “Strap on some f–king balls and defend your partner against your f–king mother in my house.”
It remains unclear if they broke up before the fight or as a result of it. Gigi is believed to have fled Paris after the incident, missing the Isabel Marant show she was scheduled to walk, and flown home.
Gigi has refused to comment in detail on the matter but her rep said in a statement: “Gigi is solely focused on the best for Khai. She asks for privacy during this time.” Neither Gigi nor Yolanda commented for this story.
A source close to Gigi told People Wednesday that the tensions between Yolanda and Zayn have been long-simmering.
“Yolanda is, of course, very protective of Gigi,” said the source. “She wants the best for her daughter and grandchild. She has had some issues with Zayn. He has a complicated personality, and she thinks he could treat Gigi better. It’s been hard at times for Gigi to live with him.”
Malik wrote on Twitter: “This was and still should be a private matter but it seems for now there is a divisiveness and despite my efforts to restore us to a peaceful family environment that will allow for me to co-parent my daughter in a manner in which she deserves, this has been ‘leaked’ to the press. I am hopeful though for healing for all involved with the harsh words shared and more importantly I remain vigilant to protect Khai and give her the privacy she deserves.”
Sources told The Post that Malik and Gigi plan to share joint custody of Khai, as Gigi knows he adores her, but his behavior will be watched closely.
Asked if there could be any issues over custody down the road, matrimonial and family law expert John O. Farley, a partner at Cohen Clair Lans Greifer Thorpe & Rottenstreich LLP, said: “I cannot comment on facts or law concerning this specific case. However, in determining what is in the best interests of the child, the courts will seriously consider allegations of domestic violence when determining custody.”
In an interview with Harper’s Bazaar in July, Gigi painted an idyllic picture of life with Malik and Khai, revealing they took her on little hikes in the woods, put on Bollywood music for her and sang Arabic nursery rhymes. (Both Malik and Gigi are Muslim.)
Asked about how Malik got on with her family, Gigi admitted: “He speaks his mind. When he’s in the middle of a family thing and everyone’s like, ‘Zayn, whose side are you on?’ he’s charming. He’s usually on my mom’s side, so he’s smart in that sense.”
