Zayn Malik postpones US tour following the dying of Liam Payne
Zayn Malik has postponed the American leg of his first ever solo tour following the untimely death of his former One Direction bandmate Liam Payne.
Payne, 31, plunged to his death from the third floor of his hotel balcony in Buenos Aires, Argentina, on Wednesday, sparking an outpouring of grief and shock around the world.
Zayn, who was due to perform in San Francisco on October 23, told his fans this evening: ‘Given the heartbreaking loss experienced this week, I’ve made the decision to postpone the US leg of the STAIRWAY TO THE SKY Tour.
‘The dates are being rescheduled for January and I’ll post them as soon as it’s all set in the next few days. Your tickets will remain valid for the new dates. Love you all and thank you for your understanding.’
Zayn, who shot to stardom with Payne, Niall Horan, Louis Tomlinson and Harry Styles as young teenagers, was due to perform in San Francisco, Las Vegas, Los Angeles, Washington, DC, and New York.
It appears the UK tour, which starts in Edinburgh next month, will go ahead as planned.
Zayn Malik has cancelled the American leg of his upcoming tour following the untimely death of his former One Direction bandmate Liam Payne
Zayn Malik was due to go on his first solo tour – starting in San Francisco on Wednesday night. It has been postponed
Zayn, 31, recently performed at the O2 Shepherd’s Bush Empire in London, but this was set to mark the first time he was going on a large tour since leaving One Direction.
Following the sudden death of Payne, Zayn admitted he had been ‘talking out loud’ to his former bandmate – as he opened up about their tricky relationship in a tribute.
In an honest message, he acknowledged their ups and downs, saying the pair had ‘butted heads’, but thanked Payne for ‘helping him through his darkest times’ and poignantly said he’d hoped for a chance to rebuild their bond in the future.
Zayn, who quit One Direction in 2015 citing ‘stress’ and stating he wanted to be a ‘normal 22-year-old’, had an up and down relationship with Liam – who called his bandmate a ‘d***’ when he appeared on Logan Paul‘s podcast in 2022.
In the same interview, he also spoke about a physical altercation where a bandmate threw him against a wall, and recently Liam’s ex-fiancée Maya Henry alleged that it was Zayn.
Taking to Instagram on Thursday evening, Zayn wrote: ‘Liam I have found myself talking out loud to you, hoping you can hear me, I can’t help but think selfishly that there was so many more conversations for us to have in our lives.
‘I never got to thank you for supporting me through some of the most difficult times in my life.
‘When I was missing home as a 17-year-old kid you would always be there with a positive outlook and reassuring smile and let me know you were my friend and that I was loved.
Zayn famously left the band in 2015, and in 2016, he said he was ‘the closest with Liam’ when he was asked what his relationship with his former bandmates was like (pictured in 2014)
Earlier this week, Zayn shared a refreshingly honest tribute to his bandmate Liam Payne as he admitted they ‘butted heads’ but praised him for ‘helping him through his darkest times’ in his tribute
He wrote: ‘Even though we butted heads because of this a few times, I always secretly respected you for it’
Payne tragically passed away at age 31 on Wednesday evening, after he fell from a hotel balcony in Buenos Aires, Argentina
‘Even though you were younger than me you were always more sensible than me., you were headstrong, opinionated and gave no f**ks about telling people they were wrong.
‘Even though we butted heads because of this a few times, I always secretly respected you for it.’
Zayn famously left the band in 2015, and in 2016, he said he was ‘the closest with Liam’ when he was asked what his relationship with his former bandmates was like.
‘I’m still probably the closest to Liam. We talk on the phone. He congratulated me on my single. Which was nice. I congratulated him on his Brit Award,’ he said at the time.
