Simon Cowell slams Zayn Malik
Simon Cowell called Zayn Malik "rude" after the singer dissed One Direction. Pictured: Cowell at the A Night Of Heroes: The Sun Military Awards in London on Dec. 10, 2014. Getty Images

Zayn Malik has made it clear he doesn't regret leaving One Direction, but comments he recently made about the boy band have landed him in hot water with former mentor Simon Cowell. In a new interview, Cowell fired back at Malik's claims that One Direction's music is "generic as f---."

“I think once he has had a chance to reflect on everything he will probably reconsider what he’s said because it was a very, very democratic process in the band,” Cowell told the Mirror in an interview published Sunday. “It is a bit rude to the people who wrote all the hits with them. And to the other band members. I mean they all wrote a lot of the stuff.”

Last month, Malik sat down with Fader magazine for their December/January issue and opened up about his time being a member of One Direction. The 22-year-old singer, who quit the group in March, seemed frustrated over the types of songs they recorded.

“There was never any room for me to experiment creatively in the band. If I would sing a hook or a verse slightly R&B, or slightly myself, it would always be recorded 50 times until there was a straight version that was pop, generic as f---, so they could use that version," he said. "Whenever I would suggest something, it was like it didn’t fit us.”

Malik went on to say that he was never "100 percent behind the music" the band released.

As previously reported, Malik announced in July that he had signed to RCA Records and Turn First Artists management. The move was his first step towards launching his solo career.

In a tweet to announce the news, Malik seemingly slammed his former bandmates Harry Styles, Louis Tomlinson, Niall Horan and Liam Payne.

“I guess I never explained why I left," he wrote. "It was for this moment to be given the opportunity to show you who I really am! #realmusic #RCA!!”

According to the Guardian, the singer has started working with R&B producer Malay in hopes of creating more "adult music" and less pop songs like the ones One Direction puts out.

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