Simon Cowell scolds Zayn Malik over One Direction comments

London: Media mogul Simon Cowell has criticised Zayn Malik for speaking ill of his time in One Direction, calling the singer "rude".

Malik, who quit the boyband in March, said in an interview that there was no room for him to "experiment creatively" in the band, and branded their music "generic", reported Contactmusic.

Now, "The X Factor" judge Cowell has scolded the singer for being rude about band members Liam Payne, Harry Styles, Niall Horan and Louis Tomlinson.

"I think once he has had a chance to reflect on everything he will probably reconsider what he's said because it was a very, very democratic process in the band," he said. "It is a bit rude to the people who wrote all the hits with them. And to the other band members. I mean they all wrote a lot of the stuff."