On Friday, TMZ reported that singer Zayn Malik got into a heated confrontation outside a bar in the East Village, NYC, at 2 a.m.
Zayn, who is shirtless in the video, is shown in an altercation with another man for unknown reasons. The two appear to scream at each other as they are both being held back.
It doesn't appear the fight led to punches or physical violence. However, in the video, the other man is heard calling Zayn the anti-gay F-word.
Zayn yelled back, saying, "I'm a [F-word]?"
People were not happy that Zayn, who identifies as straight and is married to Gigi Hadid, said that word:
Zayn Malik using the f slur in a fight during Pride month…..
people on instagram defending zayn malik saying the f slur is so weird… especially when they’re not part of the lgbt community… ESPECIALLY DURING PRIDE MONTH
Why are people defending zayn malik for saying the F slur😭 it doesn’t matter if it was in the heat of the moment he still doesn’t have the right to say it???
Others defended the singer, saying it's not as offensive because he was just repeating the slur back to the person in the altercation:
zayn did nothing wrong. the guy called him the f slur and he repeated it like (im a) f***** ?
"Zayn said the f slur" yeah he basically repeated what that yt guy said first (which he shouldn't have) and he was clearly defending himself ,but why did that guy call him the f slur in first place...lets talk about that. You all are trying to cancel the WRONG PERSON
this is the only thing i’m saying about this situation. yes hold him accountable! cancel him?? no! i personally as a gay man felt no personal offense to this. do other people? yes and they have that right to feel that way. you can blatantly her the other guy call zayn the f slur