Zayn Malik is finally addressing his alleged fight with Yolanda Hadid – two years after he pleaded no contest to harassment charges claiming he shoved ex-partner Gigi Hadid’s mom during an explosive argument.
“Your family issues. Like if something happens in the family, like, I’d rather keep that between the family,” Malik, 30, said on Wednesday’s episode of Spotify’s “Call Her Daddy” podcast, which marked his first public interview in six years.
“You don’t need a whole audience of people and opinions, because it’s hard enough to manage between two,” he added of him and 28-year-old model Gigi, with whom he shares 2-year-old daughter Khai.
The former One Direction heartthrob stressed that if the altercation were as bad as people were making it out to be, he wouldn’t have 50 percent custody of his little girl.
“I’m super full on, hands-on with my child every chance I can be,” he said, adding, “If I could get 60 percent [custody], I would have it.”
Malik explained that he stayed quiet about the claims at the time because he doesn’t like to get involved with internet chatter.
“I don’t tend to get involved when people say things online, whether it’s got something to do with me or it doesn’t. Because for me, my most valuable thing that I have in life is time,” he said. “That takes so much time in a toxic environment to, like, explain yourself to people and justify this, so I just kind of keep to myself.”
He added that he and the people involved knew what happened so that was “all [he] really cared about.”
“If anybody of the same mind would look at the situation, I believe you could respect that I just didn’t want to bring attention to anything,” he furthered. “I just wasn’t trying to get into a negative back-and-forth with her.”
Malik added that he didn’t want any “narrative online” that his daughter could look back at one day and “read into it,” saying, “There was no point.”
“I believe I dealt with it in the best way. An amicable, respectful way,” he said. “That’s all that needs to be said. I feel like it’s a lot of negativity.”
In September 2021, Malik and Gigi broke up after he was accused of assaulting her mom.
The “Pillowtalk” singer stayed mum on the allegations at the time, explaining that it was a “private matter,” but that he would not “contest the claims.”
That same month, Gigi addressed the domestic spat in a statement via her spokesperson.
“Gigi is solely focused on the best for Khai. She asks for privacy during this time,” Gigi’s rep told People, explaining that her priority is caring for their daughter amid the mayhem.
Malik was charged with four counts of harassment for allegedly calling Yolanda, 59, a “f–king Dutch slut,” screaming about his “sperm” and pushing her into a dresser during the altercation.
Court documents claimed Malik “grabbed and shoved [Yolanda] into a dresser, causing mental anguish and physical pain.” The singer denied making any physical contact.
He was also accused of screaming at Gigi, “Strap on some f–king balls and defend your partner against your f–king mother in my house.”
Malik then allegedly almost got into a fight with a security guard who was also present, and yelled at him, “Get the f–k out of my f–king house, copper.”
The “I Don’t Want to Live Forever” artist pleaded no contest and was ordered to 90 days of probation for each count for a total of 360 days. He also had to complete an anger management class and a domestic violence supervision program and was ordered to stay away from Yolanda and the security guard.
Gigi and Malik welcomed Khai in September 2020 after dating on and off for five years.
The fashionista is currently rumored to be dating Leonardo DiCaprio. However, she and the actor, 48, have never publicly addressed any romance speculation.
Meanwhile, Malik was most recently romantically linked to Selena Gomez, though the “Good For You” singer, 30, seemingly denied the speculation last month.
