Louis Tomlinson attends Zayn Malik concert in 1st public reunion since Liam Payne funeral

One Direction fans attending a Zayn Malik concert in Los Angeles Wednesday were given an unexpected thrill when the singer announced that a special guest was there to take in the music with them: his former bandmate Louis Tomlinson. 

In videos of the moment shared to social media, Malik tells the crowd at the Shrine Expo Hall that "tonight is kind of special. An old friend of mine is here supporting me." 

After he confirmed that it was Tomlinson, prompting a wave of cheers, fans were quick to find him in the crowd; another video pans up to where Tomlinson stood in the balcony, tapping a hand on his heart in reaction to the tribute. 

Malik and Tomlinson, along with fellow One Direction members Harry Styles and Niall Horan, had all reunited for the first time in years in November at the funeral of their final bandmate, Liam Payne. 

Payne died in October at the age of 31 after falling from the balcony of his hotel room in Buenos Aires. His funeral, held in Amersham, England, saw his four former bandmates in attendance, along with Simon Cowell, the music mogul who helped co-create the meteoric boyband on the X-Factor U.K. in 2010. 

In the wake of Tomlinson's appearance at Malik's concert, fans have been sharing emotional reactions on social media, with some noting this is the first time the two have been publicly seen together in the same room for roughly a decade.

"Zouis in the same room in 2025 … I've been waiting for this moment for years," user 28marsrry posted on X. 

Malik also dedicated the final two songs of the performance, What I Am and Alienated, to Tomlinson, and the pair were reportedly seen leaving the venue together, according to fans. 

Post-band tensions

This particular reunion may have been extra touching for fans because Malik and Tomlinson have not had much of a public relationship since Malik abruptly left One Direction mid-tour in 2015, citing a need for a break from the furious pace of the globally successful boy band.

The pair had seemed close during the band's earlier years, collaborating on stunts such as purchasing a van together and customizing it to look like the Mystery Machine from Scooby Doo. 

Not long after Malik's departure from the band, the two had a public spat on Twitter in 2015, with Malik hitting back after Tomlinson made comments about a producer Zayn was working with." Remember when you had a life and stopped making bitchy comments about mine?" Malik tweeted in a reply to Tomlinson.

Following his split with the band, Malik said in several interviews that One Direction's music hadn't been his style. 

For years, there was not much public interaction between Malik and his former bandmates.  

In 2022, after Malik posted a clip of him singing his famous high note from the One Direction song You & I, Tomlinson liked the post on Instagram, later commenting on a post about Malik's child's birthday in 2023. 

Malik opened up on the Call Her Daddy podcast in July 2023 about some of the reasoning behind his exit from the band, saying he "selfishly" wanted to be the first to go solo when he sensed the band would split.  

"There was obviously underlying issues within our friendships, too," he added. 

"We'd got sick of each other, if I'm being completely honest. … There were great experiences, I had great times with them, but we'd just run our course."

Speaking to Zach Sang in 2024, he shared that he regretted not "enjoying the band enough" when he was younger. 

Malik has released four albums since going solo. His current Stairway to the Sky tour, in support of his album Room Under the Stairs, is his first concert tour.