Simon Cowell has described the moment he found out Zayn Malik was leaving One Direction, joking to James Corden that he was "about to jump off a cliff".
Simon appeared on James Corden's Late Late Show talk show in the US, revealing that he was in Miami at the time and received a phone call from Malik. "I kind of knew this was coming if I'm honest with you. We'd had a few conversations and he wasn't happy," Cowell says. "I was trying to say to him, 'You should stay around a bit longer', and then something in him said, 'No, I've had enough'. Once the decision was made I dealt with it, then obviously made sure the guys were okay as they were shocked as well." Cowell also states that he "respects" Malik's decision as he could see that the singer "needed some time off". "Once someone has made their mind up, they're going to go," Cowell continues. "At the same time I didn't want to push him too much, he's 22 and I could see he was stressed and needed some time off. I had to respect his decision." Watch the full interview below. Simon went on to praise the rest of the band for continuing like professionals with the tour. "For the boys it was interesting because they were in the middle of these live shows at the time. "Then I watched the show back and they were incredible. I have a feeling they are going to deliver the best record they have ever made."
