A year and a half ago, I was pretty much convinced that Zayn Malik was a snotty little a—hole. I was convinced that leaving One Direction was going to be his biggest career blunder ever, and a blunder he would be trying to walk back for years. I was wrong! Zayn launched himself as Zayn 2.0, talked some sh-t about 1D, released a popular solo album and started dating Gigi Hadid. While everything’s not perfect – Zayn still struggles with severe anxiety, apparently – he does seem healthier, happier and more independent these days. Zayn covers the new issue of Highsnobiety Magazine, something I have never heard of before now. The interview is pretty good – you can read the full piece here. Some highlights:

Don’t call him a celebrity: “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, so they think that means they know you, and I can see through that bullsh-t a mile off.”

One Direction’s grooming policies: “We were literally meant to ask permission before we changed our hair or like, grew a beard. It was ridiculous.”

Leaving 1D: “I don’t think you can ever be prepared for something like that. I knew there would be a big reaction in the press, because there was so much attention on us at that point, but I had no idea how fans would react.”

Whether he considered the reactions of his impressionable young fan-girls: “I try not to take [my actions] into consideration too much because if I did, I’d never do anything. It’s a lot of pressure. I never claimed to be a role model, I just make music.”

He tries to stay authentic: “It’s cynical to say, but I think to really ‘make it’ in a commercial sense, you have to be a bit of a faker. If you’re not going to be fake, then you need a really thick skin. You have to not give a sh-t what people think about you. You have to guide your own career and not follow other people’s expectations of what kind of artist they want you to be.”

Being attacked for being a Muslim pop star: “Generally, I try not to comment on politics or controversial issues in public because I don’t think that it’s my place. I struggle with the invasion of privacy that comes with this job. I also think one of the most negative aspects of being in the public eye is that you have no control over people’s perception of you.”

[From Highsnobiety]

His non-answer for the question about his religion is interesting and diplomatic. He’s been accused of bringing “jihad” to pop music (???) and just this past May, Azealia Banks went off on a particularly unhinged and flat-out racist rant against him on Twitter. Zayn has never really gotten political about the fact that he’s Muslim and half-Pakistani, and I would argue that Zayn sees himself as a pop star first and a Muslim man secondly. But maybe I’m wrong – maybe he can be all of it, all at once. All that being said, I dislike the “I never claimed to be a role model” argument. There’s a balance between making the kind of art you want to make and simply acknowledging that your fanbase is mostly made up of incredibly impressionable tween and teen girls.

Photos courtesy of Highsnobiety.