Getty ImagesIt's been a little more than a month since Zayn Malik left One Direction and that whole "friends for life" promise may already in jeopardy.
The 22-year-old singer, who left the pop group in March, got involved on Wednesday in a Twitter battle between his pal and music producer Naughty Boy and Louis Tomlinson, 23, one of the four remaining group members. Malik went on the offensive against Tomlinson in a bid to defend Naughty Boy, who has exchanged nasty tweets with the One Direction star before.
On Wednesday, Naughty Boy shared a photoshopped pic of himself with Malik.
Replace this . pic.twitter.com/Dis0Tfd7cz
? Naughty Boy (@NaughtyBoyMusic) May 6, 2015More than two and a half hours later, Tomlinson tweeted, without naming names, "Remember when you were 12 and you used to think those Mac filters for your pictures were cool haha ! Some people still do HA!"
"@Louis_Tomlinson and some people can't even sing...but who's complaining when there's auto tune eh," Naughty Boy replied less than 15 minutes later.
"@NaughtyBoyMusic Jesus forgot you were such an in demand producer..." Tomlinson said more than 20 minutes later. "How does it feel to be riding on the back of someone else's career?"
Then Malik got involved.
"@Louis_Tomlinson remember when you had a life and stopped making bitchy comments about mine?" he tweeted one minute later.
"@Louis_Tomlinson Yeah how does it feel mate?" Naughty Boy said. "You've been doing that for the last five years... I've got Emeli Sande and Sam Smith on my CV."
Tomlinson has not responded to Malik.
"@NaughtyBoyMusic good for you, well done!!" Tomlinson said. "I think we've done alright in terms of sales and I've happened to write on most. Keep trying!"
@Louis_Tomlinson and some people can't even sing.. but who's complaining when there's auto tune eh ??
? Naughty Boy (@NaughtyBoyMusic) May 6, 2015@Louis_Tomlinson remember when you had a life and stopped making bitchy comments about mine ?
? zaynmalik (@zaynmalik) May 6, 2015@NaughtyBoyMusic good for you , well done !! I think we've done alright in terms of sales and I've happened to write on most. Keep trying !
? Louis Tomlinson (@Louis_Tomlinson) May 6, 2015Malik announced his departure from One Direction on March 25, saying in a statement that Tomlinson and the other three remaining members, Niall Horan, Liam Payne and Harry Styles were his "four friends for life."
After the split, he and Naughty Boy hung out together in the producer's studio, where they spoke to the U.K. newspaper The Sun in what marked one of the singer's first interviews since leaving the band. Malik is expected to launch a solo career, although he has not given any details.
In April, Naughty Boy accompanied Mailk at the Asian Awards and appeared on stage to present him with the award for Outstanding Achievement in Music. There, the singer paid tribute to One Direction in a heartwarming acceptance speech.