Lauer was booed by One Direction fans Monday during a promo visit on NBC’s Today show. What did Matt Lauer do to deserve such treatment?
Lauer booed by One Direction supporters, is a hot topic in the entertainment world this afternoon. English-Irish pop boy band, One Direction (1D), put out their new album Four this week, and the popular group has been everywhere promoting the project.
An appearance on NBC’s Today show Monday, quickly turned awkward when the interviewer decided to pursue an original line of questioning. It all started when the host pointed out that there was a 1D member missing.
The group usually composed of Harry Styles, Liam Payne, Zayn Malik, Niall Horan and Louis Tomlinson, appeared on the program without Malik. Lauer was determined to find out why Malik was not present.
Lauer was so intrigued by the matter that he tweeted about it before the segment started. The 56-year-old TV star wrote:
“Where’s Zayn? One Direction arrives in Orlando without him. Plenty of questions, but the show goes on Today. #1DTODAY”
And when he finally got an opportunity to get some answers, he jumped right into it. He asked the young men:
“Let’s start with the obvious. Where’s Zayn?”
Payne opted to take on the question, he told Lauer:
“Yea, he’s got a tummy bug, so he’s not very well at the moment, so he couldn’t make it. We only found out this morning so we’re really sad, he is as well, that he can’t be here for our album release… It’s still going to be a great day, I’m sure.”
This response was not sufficiently clear for Lauer, who decided to take things in a whole new direction, drug addiction, Malik and Tomlinson were allegedly caught on video smoking weed in May. Lauer said:
“Liam, there’s obvious a lot of concern. A lot of fans have been tweeting overnight. There’s been a lot of action on social media about him. Is it something more serious than just a minor illness? There have been rumors of substance abuse, what’s going on?”
Payne hit right back in a cool demeanor, he stated:
“No, he’s just got a stomach bug. He’s OK. He’s just at home. He just needs to rest.”
The foursome handled the interview very well, but One Direction fans booed Lauer and took their anger to social media. Malik, who watched the whole thing unfold on television was not pleased, he revealed to U.K.’s The Sun:
“I’m really angry and upset by what was said. I was really ill at the weekend, that’s why I couldn’t fly to America.”
Styles did not leave the drama reach him, he graciously shared on Instagram:
“Thank you to @todayshow for having us this morning. You’re always very nice.”
It needs to be mentioned that Malik was also a no-show when 1D won an MTV Europe award on November 9, 2014 in Glasgow, Scotland.
Was Matt Lauer wrong for asking the question? Lauer booed by One Direction fans, what say you?
