One Direction member Zayn Malik has backed out of the band’s tour after being “signed off with stress.” His publicist, Simon Jones, said Malik is flying back to the UK to recuperate. Jones says, “The band wish him well and will continue with their performances in Manila and Jakarta.”
The PR problem with the announcement is that a photo surfaced of a happy looking Malik and a young woman, who isn’t his fiancée Perrie Edwards, having a great time in Thailand just a few days ago. Malik’s response was “there’s a lot of jealous f%cks in this world I’m sorry for what it looks like.” In November, American TV host Matt Lauer implied that Malik was missing from the interview due to “substance abuse.” Malik’s bandmates were quick to correct Lauer — they said it was a “tummy bug.”
