One Direction sparked outrage last week when a video surfaced that showed band members Zayn Malik and Louis Tomlinson smoking marijuana in Peru.
Now their mentor,Simon Cowell, has spoken about the incident in an interview with the Digital Spy and insists there is nothing to worry about.
“What I can say is that they’re the hardest-working boys I’ve ever worked with,” says Cowell. “They still haven’t changed. They’re really respectful of their fans [and] they’re a great British export… they’ve been a joy to work with. I’ve worked with a lot of artists in the past who do lose the plot, who do lose respect for their fans, they’ve never done that.”
When asked what advice he gave to the boy band, Cowell declined to say, stating it was a “private matter.” He added that he is “on the phone all the time” with all of his artists.
Over the weekend, band member Liam Payne apologized on behalf of the group through Twitter:
I love my boys and maybe things have gone a little sideways I apologise for that.We are only in our 20’s we all do stupid things at this age
— Liam Payne (@Real_Liam_Payne) May 31, 2014
We all have a lot of growing up to do in an extreme circumstance I’m not making excuse but it’s fact we are gunna fall short somewhere
— Liam Payne (@Real_Liam_Payne) May 31, 2014
Hopefully we stand the test of time an get it right in the end I don’t take this for granted and im extremely grateful to be here doing this
— Liam Payne (@Real_Liam_Payne) May 31, 2014
Thank you to everyone who has stuck with us through this just know that we love you guys for it and it means the world
— Liam Payne (@Real_Liam_Payne) May 31, 2014
One Direction, who are signed to Cowell’s Syco Records, will be hitting the road in North America later this year.
