It looks like Niall Horan may have a new friend -- and the rest of One Direction do not approve!

Earlier this month, photos of Niall hanging with Chris Brown surfaced and the Irish singer's bandmates are reportedly not happy. According to Sugarscape, the other four men in One Direction want Niall to end his association with the singer.

"The rest of the lads -- especially Harry and Louis -- are really unhappy about Niall's new friendship with Chris," a source tells Sugarscape. "Niall has been advised to dump Chris ASAP -- but Chris is still texting him every day. It's causing real friction behind the scenes."

Yikes! If reports are to be believed, Niall disagrees with the rest of One Direction's opinions.

"Niall and Chris are getting on really well and he thinks the other lads need to just let him do his thing," the insider claims. "But the other lads don't see it that way at all. This is the guy who beat up Rihanna. He's not exactly got the kind of image One Direction want to be associated with."

Furthermore, it sounds like Simon Cowell doesn't approve of the friendship either and reportedly "freaked out" over the pictures.

Meanwhile, those close to Chris allegedly want to intervene on another aspect of his life.

TMZ has acquired photos of the singer allegedly making gang signs with his hands. However, the site claims that Chris' girlfriend Karrueche Tran and his mom want him to stop associating himself with the organizations. Reportedly, they're concerned for both his safety and his career.

TMZ reports that the LAPD has even tried to get Chris and his entourage banned from clubs.

While Chris' record may not be spotless, we think he's trying to improve his image. In his recent interview with Billboard, he opened up about trying to be "the best Chris Brown" he can be -- and that's who we're rooting for.

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