Zayn Malik Wasn't Kicked Out of One Direction, Simon Cowell Says

Zayn Malik stops to greet fans while heading out of his hotel to a mob of people on Friday (November 13) in New York City.

The 22-year-old former One Direction singer was not kicked out of the band.

“I knew Zayn was going before it happened,” the group’s manager Simon Cowell recently said (via Us Weekly). “He was unhappy. My concern was actually for the boys. Zayn wasn’t in a great place but it was his decision to leave, he wasn’t kicked out. He wanted to distance himself. My responsibility was to the boys because they had no warning.”

25+ pics inside of Zayn Malik getting mobbed in the Big Apple…