Zayn Malik hates the word 'celebrity'

27 September 2016

Zayn Malik thinks it is "dangerous" to refer to himself as a celebrity.

Zayn Malik

The 'PILLOWTALK' hitmaker hates the term as he feels it makes some stars feel as though they're more superior than other people.

He told HighSnobiety magazine: "I hate the word celebrity. I think it's a dangerous road to go down, thinking of yourself as a celebrity, because then you somehow automatically think that label makes you superior to other people. Some people just want to hang around you because they know your name ... I can see through that bulls**t a mile off."

Meanwhile, the 23-year-old singer - who is dating model Gigi Hadid - previously admitted he feels "free at last" after quitting One Direction.

He shared: "I just knew it was my time. I knew I wanted to do something different and start expressing the way I felt about certain things ...

"I know that musicians are seen as one-sided people a lot of the time. But we do have other elements to us as well. I didn't feel good. Do you know what I mean? And if you don't feel good ... You need to be able to express what it is that you are. I'm free at last."

Zayn found it difficult going solo at first and admitted there was a "lot of built-up anxiety" ahead of the release of his first single.

He added: "There was a lot of built-up anxiety to create this thing. You don't really know what's going to happen. So when that song [his debut single 'PILLOWTALK'] went out, and I saw the reaction from the fans, that took a little weight off me for a bit. Obviously, there's still a lot of pressure. I don't want to be a one-hit wonder, so I've got a lot of work to do."