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Zayn Malik Addresses Yolanda Hadid Incident

Zayn Malik Addresses 2021 Yolanda Hadid Incident: "I Believe I Dealt With It in the Best Way"

NEW YORK, NY - JANUARY 28:  Recording artist Zayn Malik attends the 60th Annual GRAMMY Awards at Madison Square Garden on January 28, 2018 in New York City.  (Photo by Axelle/Bauer-Griffin/FilmMagic)

Image Source: Getty / Axelle/Bauer-Griffin

Zayn Malik is speaking out about the 2021 incident with Yolanda Hadid in his first interview in six years. On 12 July, the 30-year-old former One Direction singer appeared on Alex Cooper's "Call Her Daddy" podcast, where he was asked about the alleged altercation. "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," Malik said. "I believe you could respect that I just didn't want to bring attention to anything, I just wasn't trying to get into a negative back and forth with her [or] any sort of narrative online where my daughter was going to look back and read that."

"I believe I dealt with it in the best way, like, in an amicable, respectful way and that's all that needs to be said. I feel like it's a lot of negativity, you know?" Malik continued. "If something happens in the family, I rather keep that between the family. We don't need a whole audience of people and opinions because it's hard enough to manage between two."

Back in October 2021, Malik pleaded no contest to harassing girlfriend Gigi Hadid and her mother, Yolanda. According to court documents obtained by People, Malik allegedly "grabbed and shoved" Gigi's mother into a dresser during an incident at their Pennsylvania home on 29 Sept., 2021. He also allegedly hurled a series of insults and "continuous cursing" at Yolanda. Malik was charged with four counts of harassment and pleaded no contest to all of them. He was also issued 360 days of probation for all counts and was ordered to complete an anger-management class and a domestic-violence program, according to Entertainment Tonight.

In response to the allegations, Malik issued a statement on his Twitter account on Oct. 28, 2021, where he attempted to shut down the claims in the name of creating a safe space for his and Gigi's daughter, Khai. "In an effort to protect that space for [Khai] I agreed not to contest claims arising from an argument I had with a family member of my partner's who entered our home while my partner was away several weeks ago," he wrote in his statement. "This was and still should be a private matter but it seems for now there is divisiveness and despite my efforts to restore us to a peaceful family environment that will allow for me to co-parent my daughter in a manner in which she deserves, this has been 'leaked' to the press."

Malik went on to say that he hoped his family would be able to move forward and heal through the events that transpired and that, above all, he would continue to make sure his daughter is protected and gets "the privacy she deserves." Malik then issued a second statement to TMZ, in which 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."

A rep from Gigi's team released a statement to E! News about the allegations, saying, "Gigi is solely focused on the best for Khai. She asks for privacy during this time." Hours after the alleged dispute made headlines, People reported that Malik and Gigi had called it quits.

POPSUGAR reached out to both Malik's team and Yolanda's team for comment but did not receive a response at the time.

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