Zayn Malik has addressed the physical altercation with Yolanda Hadid, where he reportedly 'shoved' her for the first time. The 30-year-old singer briefly opened up about the incident with his former mother-in-law in a new episode of Alex Cooper’s Call Her Daddy podcast, marking his first interview in six years.
Cooper questioned the singer about the altercation with his ex-girlfriend Gigi Hadid'smum saying, 'I wouldn’t be doing my job if I didn’t ask about the 2021 incident. I know you can’t really speak on it but there was a lot out there questioning your character.'
Malik responded, 'I knew what the situation was, I knew what happened and the people involved knew what happened too, and that’s all I really cared about. He went on to explain that he didn't want the incident with Yolanda to play out in the public sphere. 'I just didn’t want to bring attention to anything and wasn’t trying to get into a negative back and forth with her [Yolanda], or any sort of narrative online where my daughter was gonna look back and read that. I believe I dealt with it in the best way -in an amicable respectful way and that’s all that needs to be said.'
What happened between Yolanda Hadid and Zayn Malik?
News broke about a physical altercation between Hadid and Malik on 29 September 2021, after TMZ reported that the singer had 'struck' Yolanda and she had filed a police report. Sources told the publication that Yolanda 'barged' into the house without calling beforehand or knocking the door, which set Zayn off. According to the sources, Zayn felt like Yolanda was 'acting like the house was hers' and 'ignoring' Zayn’s role as Gigi Hadid's boyfriend and the father of their daughter Khai.
According to court documents obtained by TMZ, Zayn Malik was charged with four counts of harassment against Gigi and Yolanda after he allegedly 'shoved' his ex-girlfriend’s mother into a dresser and caused her 'mental anguish and physical pain.' The documents state that Zayn called Gigi while she was in Paris for Paris Fashion Week during the fight, where he told her to 'strap on some f*cking balls and defend your partner against your f*cking mother in my house.'
Malik vehemently denied the allegations in a statement to TMZ at the time, and 'declined' to give any further details about the incident 'for the sake of my daughter.' He said, 'I adamantly deny striking Yolanda Hadid and for the sake of my daughter I decline to give any further details and I hope that Yolanda will reconsider her false allegations and move towards healing these family issues in private.'
Zayn pleaded no contest and was fined. He was ordered to complete 90 days of probation for each count, a total of 360 days. The former One Direction star also had to complete an anger management class and a domestic violence programme.
Elsewhere in the episode, the pop-star shared some rare comments about raising his and ex Gigi Hadid’s two-year-old daughter Khai. He revealed, 'Since I’ve had my daughter, the main thing in my mind is trying to be a good example to her,' he said. 'That’s why I’m even doing this interview, you know?'
The singer spoke candidly about how he used to get nervous when doing interviews, before pointing out how Khai could one day react to his conversation with Cooper. 'I used to get a lot of anxiety around having a conversation like this,' the former One Direction member said. 'And I want her to be able to look at me and be like, "My dad’s doing this."'
During the podcast preview, Cooper also asked Malik to share a dad quality that [he’s] proudly taken on. In response, he said, 'I keep being told I’m telling dad jokes. And I’m leaning into it. I’m just like, "It’s OK. It’s cool."' He rounded off speaking on how Khai has shaped his life. He said, 'I think we all get to a certain point in adult life where everything sort of seems vague and grey and boring and she’s brought that colour back to my life for me.'
Zayn and Gigi had an on-and-off relationshipfor six years. Rumours that the pair were dating started swirling in November 2015, when the pair were pictured together leaving Justin Bieber's American Music Awards after-party. But their relationship was rocky, with the pair officially breaking up (for the first time) in March 2018.
Their daughter Khai was born in September 2020 however, their official split came shortly after. In October 2021, in the wake of the altercation between Malik and Hadid’s mother, Yolanda Hadid.