Why Zayn Malik is being dubbed 'jealous' over jab at Harry Styles

Zayn Malik has been labeled “jealous” by a music industry insider after seemingly taking a dig at former One Direction bandmate Harry Styles over the high cost of his concert tickets.

“[He] is jealous,” a source told Page Six, adding that Malik’s own Las Vegas residency at Dolby Live at Park MGM initially featured high ticket prices that had to be lowered, with some as cheap as $20. 

“The demand just isn’t there. It’s unfair for him to take a cheap shot at Harry when he’s doing the same as every other artist,” the insider said in support of Styles, who is set to tour from May to December 2026.

The source added, “Zayn is just jealous that he can’t get people to pay for him.” 

Over the years, the former bandmates have occasionally sparked feud rumours. In 2017, Styles joked on Celebrity Family Feud about Malik going solo. “Why would anyone in a successful band go solo? That is insane!” 

In 2019, during his Saturday Night Live monologue, Styles pretended to forget Malik’s name, saying, “I love those guys. They’re my brothers. Niall, Louis, Liam, and uh … Ringo! Yeah, that’s it.”

Rumours of tension subsided when Malik and Styles reunited for Payne’s funeral in England in November 2024.

Most recently, Malik appeared to poke fun at Styles’ forthcoming “Together, Together” tour during his Las Vegas show on Wednesday. “I just want to say a big, big thank you to each and every single one of you for being here with me tonight,” he told the crowd. 

“You could have been anywhere, but you decided to spend your night with me,” before adding with a smirk, “Hopefully, the ticket prices weren’t too high. Just saying.”

Malik and Styles were part of One Direction alongside Louis Tomlinson, Niall Horan, and the late Liam Payne, who passed away in 2024. The group formed on the UK’s The X Factor in 2010 and officially disbanded in 2016, a year after Malik left.