One Direction's Zayn Malik leaves tour, citing stress
One-fifth of One Direction is stepping away from the band's world tour.
The boy band's publicist says a stressed Zayn Malik is flying home to Britain.
Publicist Simon Jones said Thursday that "Zayn has been signed off with stress and is flying back to the U.K. to recuperate.
Jones added that the band will continue with upcoming performances in Manila, Philippines and Jakarta, Indonesia as part of the "On the Road Again" tour.
1D statement: Zayn has been signed off with stress and is flying back to the UK to recuperate. The band wish (cont) http://t.co/sqvOnQodYy
— Simon Jones (@simonjonespr) March 19, 2015
Malik's departure comes a day after he hit back on Twitter at rumors of trouble in his relationship with fiancee Perrie Edwards of the band Little Mix.
"I'm 22 years old...I love a girl named Perrie Edwards. And there's a lot of jealous f---s in this world I'm sorry for what it looks like x," he tweeted Wednesday.
This week, authorities in the Philippines said they were imposing a $5,000 "weed bond" on Malik and fellow band member Louis Tomlinson, with the money to be forfeited if they used illegal drugs. That move followed a request by the local Anti-Drugs Advocate group asking the country's Bureau of Immigration to strictly scrutinize the band's concert permit following a video that circulated online last year of Malik and Tomlinson purportedly smoking marijuana.