In a searing new song, Zayn Malik accuses his One Direction bandmates of racial discrimination

Zayn Malik has ignited a firestorm with his forthcoming track “Fuchsia Sea,” in which he appears to accuse his former One Direction bandmates of racism during their global rise to fame.

The 32-year-old singer, born to a Pakistani father and an English-Irish mother, shared a snippet of the track on Instagram over the weekend. Among the track’s searing lyrics, one line in particular sent shockwaves through social media: “I worked hard in a white band, and they still laughed at the Asian.”

The explosive lyric stands out in a verse that also references alienation, coded conversations, and power dynamics within the group. “Got my back against the wall so much they think I got a brick fascination,” Zayn raps, adding, “I have been conscious of every connotation… while they concentrate on their elevation.”

While Malik doesn’t name any specific bandmates, the implication is clear. Many fans took the line as confirmation of long-rumoured tension behind the scenes of One Direction — the Simon Cowell-curated boy band that became a global sensation after forming on The X Factor in 2010.

The reaction from fans was swift and emotional. “I am so proud,” one fan wrote beneath the Instagram snippet. Another said, “He’s back,” while many echoed sentiments of vindication and support.

Malik, who left the band in 2015, citing stress and the desire for a more “normal” life, has largely avoided public comment about his time in One Direction. But “Fuchsia Sea” marks a sharp tonal shift. Instead of vague references, Malik directly addresses his racial identity — and how it isolated him within the band’s predominantly white dynamic.

While neither Malik’s team nor representatives for the remaining band members have commented, the track has sparked a wider conversation about representation, racism, and tokenism in the pop music industry.

“One Direction may have been packaged as squeaky clean,” said one industry observer, “but Zayn was the only person of colour in the group, and the pressure to assimilate must have been immense. It’s powerful to hear him say it out loud after all these years.”

The timing is no accident. The song comes amid Malik’s long-awaited return to music following a quiet stretch marked by personal struggles, including a high-profile split from model Gigi Hadid in 2021 and raising their daughter Khai, now 4, largely out of the spotlight.

It also follows the tragic death of former bandmate Liam Payne last year, an event that had briefly revived speculation of a One Direction reunion. In April 2023, Harry Styles told The Late Late Show’s James Corden that a reunion wasn’t impossible. “If there was a time when we wanted to do it, I don’t see why we wouldn’t,” Styles said.

But Malik’s latest release casts a long shadow over any nostalgic dreams of a comeback. The emotional rift he reveals in “Fuchsia Sea” suggests that beneath the band’s global success — millions of albums sold, stadiums packed worldwide — lay a deeper, personal alienation that he is only now putting into words.

“I’m a convert to the concert, and I did that for inflation,” Zayn raps in another verse. “They still laughed at the Asian.”

It’s a line that cuts through the polished pop mythology and forces listeners to reconsider what they thought they knew about one of the world’s biggest boy bands.