The 'Pillowtalk' singer and his former One Direction bandmate shared a cold handshake when they ran into each other at the American Music Awards.
- November 22, 2016
AceShowbiz -
It was pretty much inevitable that Zayn Malik would run into his former bandmate Niall Horan at the 2016 American Music Awards. And when that did happen, their brief reunion was nothing short of awkward, as many had predicted.
The moment the two British lads had an encounter at the November 20 event was caught on camera and the clip has since gone viral. In the video captured by an attendee, Niall was making his way through the Microsoft Theater with his entourage when he passed by his old friend, who sat on the front row.
Horan extended his arm to give Zayn a handshake, but the "Pillowtalk" hitmaker who appeared to be caught off-guard acted coldly. Many fans were disappointed by Zayn's seemingly lukewarm welcome.
Here's the video of Niall and zayn shaking hands. Zayn was shook. I'm also shook pic.twitter.com/6goi6YA33h
— anne (@EverglowAnne) November 21, 2016
"Niall had like 30 secs to get from the stage to his seat and he stopped to shake hands with Zayn but Zayn was trying to avoid eye contact," one Twitter user wrote.
Niall had like 30 secs to get from the stage to his seat and he stopped to shake hands with Zayn but Zayn was trying to avoid eye contact +
— leah|ia bc school (@urbansasxc) November 21, 2016
Another added, "ITS SAD HOW YEARS AGO NIALL AND ZAYN WERE MORE THAN BROTHERS THEY WERE ALWAYS TOGETHER AND NOW WHEN THEY MEET THEY ONLY SHAKE HANDS IM SAD."
ITS SAD HOW YEARS AGO NIALL AND ZAYN WERE MORE THAN BROTHERS THEY WERE ALWAYS TOGETHER AND NOW WHEN THEY MEET THEY ONLY SHAKE HANDS IM SAD
— ilysm zayn (@njhisart) November 21, 2016
Prior to their brief encounter, Niall told Entertainment Tonight on the red carpet that he hadn't seen his former One Direction bandmate since his exit from the band. "I haven't spoken to him in a few months or whatever, and haven't seen him in a while, so I'm looking forward to seeing him," he said.
