Racked is no longer publishing. Thank you to everyone who read our work over the years. The archives will remain available here; for new stories, head over to Vox.com, where our staff is covering consumer culture for The Goods by Vox. You can also see what we’re up to by signing up here.
Zayn Malik made the world sob in a way that only violent teenage hormones can when he left One Direction last spring, but as it turns out, he doesn't really seem to mind all that much. In a Billboard profile published today, Zayn shared some thoughts on his fans — specifically his female fans — that seem to confirm the author's argument that he is "in many ways, an average bro."
When asked if he's learned anything from girls who admire him "about the challenges they face particular to women," Zayn responded, "I was raised by a lot of women, so there's nothing any fan girl could've ever taught me about any woman."
Do expand, Zayn:
I fully understood every person who'd come and see the band, because I have crazy aunties and crazy sisters who would fan-girl over actors. If people can't have something, they want it.
Oh, Zayn. The "some of my best friends are girls" argument doesn't exactly help you here. What possibly could, however, is that amazing accent, which the author describes as "where 'other boys' becomes 'uvah boyce.'" As long as you've got that going on, we'll have no choice but to listen to whatever you say, no matter how bro-y.