Between Thursday afternoon and Friday morning, allegations have surfaced that Zayn Malik struck Yolanda Hadid and verbally harassed his partner Gigi Hadid, and reports emerged that the singer/supermodel couple has broken up. That’s a lot, I know. If you were busy binging old seasons of Selling Sunset last night with your phone turned to silent, that news probably hit you harder than your last hangover. So let’s start from the beginning and break down a comprehensive timeline of the allegations and responses so far.
On Thursday afternoon, TMZ released a shocking report that Yolanda Hadid was alleging she was struck by Zayn. That initial report included vague details, no citation to court documents, and didn’t have any direct quotes from Yolanda or her reps.
Since the initial report Thursday afternoon, TMZ has obtained and reviewed court documents which state that Zayn, who shares a 1-year-old daughter with Gigi, was charged with four counts of harassment against Yolanda AND Gigi.
Shortly after that initial TMZ report was released, Zayn took a page from the canceled-celeb-trying to apologize PR handbook and tweeted a screenshotted iPhone Notes App explanation that vehemently denied any physical action taken against Yolanda. The tweet also stated that the allegations of him striking Yolanda were “‘leaked’ to the press”, and that he wanted to keep this matter private in an effort to protect Gigi and their daughter, Khai.
Although he denied any physical altercation, he didn’t deny that an incident took place. He wrote that he and a member from Gigi’s family got into an “argument… while my partner was away several weeks ago”. We later learned that “several weeks ago” = September 29, while Gigi was in Paris for fashion week.
Following Zayn’s adamant denial, Gigi issued a statement to People via a rep asking for privacy and explaining that she’s “solely focused on the best for Khai”.
Then, the news broke that Gigi and Zayn had split.
So that’s what we went to bed with: Zayn allegedly struck Yolanda, Gigi wanted privacy, and the couple had split. That’s all the tea that could possibly be split about an A-list couple with PR tightly under wraps, right? Nope.
Shit really hit the fan Friday morning. Court documents were discovered and reviewed by outlets including Elle and TMZ that state that Zayn was charged with four counts of harassment. The documents contain allegations that Zayn called Yolanda a “f***ing Dutch slut” and that he “grabbed and shoved [Yolanda] into a dresser causing mental anguish and physical pain”.
Zayn also allegedly harassed Gigi, yelling at her on a phone call to “strap some f”*cking balls and defend your partner against your f*cking mother in my house”. Zayn also allegedly yelled at a security guard, whom TMZ says he “tried to fight”.
Zayn has pleaded no contest to the harassment charges and was fined. TMZ reports that Zayn received 90 days probation for each charge, or 360 days in total, and has to take an anger management class and complete a domestic violence program. He is not permitted to have contact with Yolanda or the security guard.
Sources “familiar with the situation” tell TMZ that Gigi and Zayn aren’t together anymore “and it’s been that way for a while”—since about a month ago.
Image: Stephane Cardinale – Corbis/Corbis via Getty Images
