Biting the hand that feeds you is never a good idea, particularly if it belongs to Simon Cowell.

In a story published to Fader in November, Zayn Malik, who quit One Direction in March, came out swinging against the band, calling their product "generic as f---" and decrying what he implied was tyrannical management. Welp, Cowell, who formed the group in 2010 on X Factor, didn't take too kindly to the remarks, and told The Mirror yesterday (December 20) that Malik will come to regret them.

"I think once he has had a chance to reflect on everything he will probably reconsider what he’s said because it was a very, very democratic process in the band," he said. "It is a bit rude to the people who wrote all the hits with them. And to the other band members. I mean they all wrote a lot of the stuff...Life could have been a lot worse, right?"

Right or wrong, Cowell said that nowadays, Malik's words are no skin off his back.

"I don’t even think about it too much because as soon as he left we sorted him out with a label who really were enthusiastic about him and then my loyalty was back with [One Direction]," he said.

What do you think of Simon's rebuttal? Read the full interview, and sound off in the comments!

Look back at Zayn Malik's very best live vocals:

See what these artists looked like when their first albums were released:

 

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