Americans were surprised when Zayn Malik gave his first interview in six years and talked about his daughter.
The 30-year-old former member of One Direction came out of the shadows to talk on a very famous show, but fans seemed more interested in how he pronounced words than in what he said.
Since announcing his departure from the famous boyband X-Factor in 2015, the singer has mostly kept to himself, but after six years of silence, he has chosen to tell all.
Zayn joined the host of Call Her Daddy, Alex Cooper, at her family home in Pennsylvania, where he talked freely about his new life and becoming a dad for the first time.
While telling the podcast host about the child he has with his ex-girlfriend, supermodel Gigi Hadid, 28, he said the word “daughter” in a way that caused an online discussion.
People who watched the American show went on social media to talk about how he spoke. They couldn’t understand what they were hearing.
One penned on TikTok: ‘since i’ve had my DAouWgeur [sic],’ attempting to replicate his Bradford accent in text while another noted: ‘The way he had to push that word out with his head’.
‘He swallowed the word “daughter” [sic],’ a user said beside a clip of the star explaining how he is navigating being a dad to Khai.
A separate account wrote: ‘it seems like he’s trying so hard to fight through his accent it’s okay zayn [sic],’ while one more joked: ‘He’s going to wait another 6 years to do interviews if he see these TikTok’s [sic].’
During the confusing moment, Zayn was heard telling the host, “Since I had my daughter, the most important thing to me is being a good model for her.”
‘That’s why I’m even doing this interview, you know? I used to get a lot of anxiety around having a conversation like this. And I want her to be able to look at me and be like, “Yo, my dad’s doing this”.’
The star and his former partner welcomed their baby girl – now two years old – on September 23 back in 2020 and shared the news on Instagram, writing: ‘Our baby girl is here, healthy & beautiful…to try put into words how i am feeling right now would be an impossible task.
‘The love i feel for this tiny human is beyond my understanding. Grateful to know her, proud to call her mine, & thankful for the life we will have together x [sic].’
