Did Perrie Really Diss Zayn By Gushing About 1D?

Of all the recent celeb splits rocking Hollywood, Zayn Malik and Perrie Edwards' breakup is by far the most difficult for fans, simply because their fans are the most passionate. Forget marriages that lasted decades ending — once the former One Direction boy-bander decided to end his engagement to the Little Mix singer, #Zerrie shippers everywhere reacted accordingly, which is to say there were plenty of slowly rocking back and forth, "I'm OK" memesto go around. For her part, Edwards has been nothing but classy, brassy, and strong in the wake of the breakup. (The same can't exactly be said for Malik, who instead took to Twitter to most likely subtweet his ex and ramble on about ~the real him~). So when Perrie Edwards gushed about One Direction's "Drag Me Down" — the band's first single without Malik — many interpreted it as a not-so-subtle dig at her ex. But is it really? I, for one, don't exactly see it that way.

Edwards revealed that 1D's new single was her fave tune of the moment in a recent interview with Radio Disney, during which the ladies of Little Mix answered questions from fans. "I like One Direction's new song 'Drag Me Down,'" the blonde singer said at the time. "It's incredible." Edwards speaks the truth: That ish is addictive AF.

Some media outlets immediately took Edwards' remark — like, omg she could've picked any new song ever and she just happened to choose the one that Malik pointedly wasn't a part of — as a shady diss aimed at her ex. Only here's the thing: Malik has praised "Drag Me Down" as well, tweeting about how "proud" he is of the guys and calling the single "sick." And just because Perrie Edwards can appreciate some fine music and called 1D's new song "incredible," it doesn't necessarily mean that it's "incredible" because Malik isn't on it. No, it's "incredible" because it's giving the group a much-needed R&B edge, it's filled with "sick beats" to use Taylor Swift's favorite words, and Harry Styles' high notes could take you to church right then and there. Like, even Louis Tomlinson sounds good.

At the end of the day, Edwards is a 22-year-old woman with a passion for and appreciation of quality pop music (um, she is in a pop group herself), so whywouldn't she express her love for One Direction's kickass new single if it's her summer jam? I totally understand that the world has to put the situation in context, but it's entirely plausible that people are overreacting and her mention of "Drag Me Down" was just because the song is the best thing One Direction has put out since "What Makes You Beautiful." Yeah, I said it.

Diss or not, Perrie Edwards' love for "Drag Me Down" is basically the equivalent of the below GIF and that is just a beautiful sight to see.

Image: Giphy