Leave Zayn's Fiancé Perrie Edwards Out Of This

In news that rocked the world of boy band fandom, Zayn Malik officially announced that he's leaving One Direction to pursue a normal life. You've gotta appreciate his reasons. Living in the spotlight can't be easy for a 22-year-old, and Directioners are some of the most diehard, overly obsessed fans you could ever encounter. Imagine living out the majority of your life with a trail of screaming girls and paparazzi constantly in your wake. Naturally, emotions are running high as the news was made public, but as we've seen on social media, fan outrage and frustration over losing the heartthrob is being misdirected. All over Twitter, though, I've seen fans putting the blame on Zayn's fiance Perrie Edwards for causing him to drop out of the band. And that's not fair.

Malik laid out his reasons for leaving in an official statement posted on the One Direction Facebook page. It read in part:

I'd like to apologise to the fans if I've let anyone down, but I have to do what feels right in my heart. I am leaving because I want to be a normal 22-year-old who is able to relax and have some private time out of the spotlight.

And from there, I suppose fans jumped to the conclusion that Perrie is to blame. Not cool, guys.

Some of them seem like they're mentioning it for laughs, playing up the absurdity of doing so, but this blame game has to stop. The fact that the woman Zayn loves is being bullied over a decision he ultimately made is disgusting. It's not her fault, and I'm sure she'd support him in whatever he decided to do. Furthermore, by calling Perrie the "Yoko Ono" of One Direction, fans are demeaning Zayn by comparison. Do you not think he's a grown man capable of making his own choices and deciding what's best for him?

In a move that I'm sure will infuriate more of these haters, Zayn tweeted his response on the matter.

Zayn has, clearly, been feeling the burn for a while, as his public and private lives have been under fierce scrutiny. Earlier this week, the band announced that stress caused him to bail on the One Direction tour and fly back to England for recuperation. People are now speculating as to what will be the fate of One Direction and Zayn's own career following this news. But now he'll have all the time to gather his thoughts that he needs, and I wish him and Perrie well.