everything wrong with one direction and why you shouldn’t want the band to get back together; a thread

DISCLAMER: i’m not an expert on this topic and i made a ton of research but if i got something wrong or i’m missing out pls let me know and i’ll correct myself. also i got most of my info from a video on youtube called “the dark side of one direction”

this is not to hate on the band, i used to be a directioner when i was younger and they meant a lot to me but now that i’m older i can see the toxic enviornment sorrounding that band. i still see a lot of people wanting them back and i put together a bunch of reasons why

you shouldn’t and why it’s so much better for them to have broken up. this is a very long thread but i encourage you to read it all.

~ THEY WERE A BRAND, NOT A BAND
i’m gonna start by what i think is the most important aspect, which is the fact that they were treated as a brand, not as a band. their management (which was Modest!) were the ones who decided everything regarding their image, public personalities+

and how they were percieved. their purpose was to appeal to a certain audience, which in this was teenage girls. thats why from the start they needed them to behave certain way and look certain way.

one direction were told how to dress since the beginning. stylists usually choose clothes for the artist they work for, but usually the artist gets to have a say in the style they want to go for, but that wasn’t the case for the boys. i will expand on this topic in a minute

they were also not allowed to choose their hair styles either. harry said that he was forced to wear those tight curls in 2011-2013 even though he didn’t like them.

zayn also opened up about this saying that he wasn’t allowed to choose his hair color, the furthest thing management let him do was have that blonde streak in 2013.

he wasn’t allowed to grow a beard in 2011-2012 because, thats not the style “they were going for”. in an intweview he talked about this and about his hair. this was also to keep aiming for that younger audience, cause the clean shave would make him look younger

even tho niall started dying his hair before one direction, he was forced to keep doing it. they would dye his hair once a month (i think) to prevent roots from growing. once he was out of the band he let it go back to its natural color, brown

something that’s also important in this topic is that management chose a “role” in the band for each of the boys, kind of like a character they needed to be in public at all times. i’m gonna talk about each of their roles and also expand on the clothes in this part.

• HARRY •

harry, as everyone knows very well, was set to be the flirt. the womanizer. he was put out to be the guy who was into older women, that had many girlfriends along the years and a very active sex life. the media had loads of fun making stories on this topic.+

so much that interviewers would constantly ask him about his love life and sex life. when he was barely 19 they were already asking how many girls he had slept with. one time he was even told “oh you’re the womanizer” and zayn had to jump in his defense.

this would bother harry every time. if you are his fan, you know he’s nothing but respectful to women. multiple times he tried to get out of this womanizer title but the media and management wouldn’t have it. in one interview asked about this he said “i have a lot of friends,+

and some of them are girls, and apparently i’m dating all of them.” harry couldn’t be seen with a woman cause everyone would jump into conclusion he was his new gf, new hook up etc.

to go more into the clothing topic, his style changed throughout the years, but always in hand with his role. at the beginning it was the blazers, next were skinny jeans and open shirts and more towards the end he also implemented suits. he was always shown as the “sexy one” tho.

this role they put on him follows him up until now, his solo career, where people are still thinking of him like this, as a womanizer, even his own fans. keep in mind this image was given to him when he was roughly 17. a child. 10 years later its still going.

a little side note that i’m probably gonna get in trouble for: THIS is harry stlyes the harry from now is the harry he chose to be, tje one he likes to be, so keep that in mind when you say you want “the old harry back”. yall may hate jeff but at least he doesn’y tell harry+

who he’s supposed to be, he lets him be whoever he wants. that’s way he’s more expressive and open now. the harry yall miss is the harry 1d management built. if thats the harry u like.. well that says a lot about you

• ZAYN •

zay was the “bad boy” or the “mysterious one”. they made him have like this dark persona, kind of like an outcast and misunderstood. apparently according to management all boybands needed a bad boy and zayn was he chosen one cause “he looked the part”

according to zayn he didn’t like this image they gave him and it didn’t go with him at all. he talked in an interview about this. they made him shape his personality to this image, thats why he was always so quiet and serious, but that wasn’t who he wanted to be.

if you saw the clothes they put on him were always black and yk mysterious or with the bad boy type, like the football jackets he had to wear during the first years.

• LIAM •

liam had the dad image, kind of like that responsible figure in the band and also the sensible one. he was supposed to be the one to keep them all grounded, even though he didn’t really like this image of him.

the thing with liam’s role is it wasn’t just for the public eye, it was behind camera as well. he was expected to keep everything in line, and somehow the responsability of what the other 4 did was on him. as the quote in the previous tweet says, when they would make a mess

management would call liam and tell him he should sort things out. his image did change a bit during the years. at first his style would fit the role very well, with the plaid shirts and all, but afterwards it was a bit more risky, but the role kinda followed him

• LOUIS •

louis’ role is quite interesting because it changed throughout the years. at first, he was supposed to be the clown. the showed him as the funny relatable bf material type of guy. if you see the early 1d videos like tour diaries and all that, he was always cracking+

jokes and being super loud, which was something that everyone loved. towards the end of 2013 more or less, this image stopped working cause he sort of changed a lot as a person. apparently around this time simon asked louis to fly to see him alone, without the rest of the band+

(which wasn’t common) and many think this was cause he told louis that he didn’t like his image and he changed it, he eventually did. the following years, louis’ personality chsnged from cute and funny to this agressive sarcastic person who got into a lot of fights and only+

thought about drinking and partying. many of his fans claim this isn’t his real personality and he’s actualy really sweet but i can’t testify on this cause i don’t know him nor follow him as an artist or anything. but you get the point

louis style changed quite a lot as well as his “role”. at first he would wear t-shirts ad colorful pants, more specifically striped tshirts. liam was actually not allowed to wear stripes cause they were “louis thing”

then his style became more laid back with tanktops and hoodies and skinny jeans, which would fit the “mean guy” image he was starting to get

in an interview, louis mentioned that he had a hard time finding his own identity after one direction was over, since im the band he didn’t really get to choose it.

• NIALL •

about niall’s role there’s not that much info since it wasn’t that obvious. but it basically was the cute adorable boy next door that everyone loved. this role didn’t really change along the years, it kept the same. for me the most importan thing is what i mentioned+

about him being forced to dye his hair which i think is awful. also he was always expected to be cheerful and to agree with everything and people would be suprised when he wasn’t cause, yk, that wasn’t his “role”

all of this shows how controled they were. they couldn’t be who they wanted to look how they wanted, they were a money making machine in their management’s eyes. this images have followed them up to this day and affects them.

~ THEIR LIVES WERE NOT THEIR OWN

just like their images, their lives were also controled by management. every single aspect of it

• TABLOIDS AND PAPARAZZI•

tabloids get most of their stories by people close to artists selling it to them. in the case of one direction, management would sell stories to tabloids, whether they were good or bad, to keep the conversation going. they would also reveal their

secrets to the media. they would also call their papz on them to be photographed alone or with someone they wanted the boys to be seen with. i know this is common in the music industry but i still think it’s so fucked up

this next part isn’t so much about about their lives being controled but kind of. the point of being an artist is doing the kind of music they like, but wit one direction they would do the music management knew it would sell.

now that we can see them as solo artists, we can see that they actually have very different styles of music, but they were forced to make pop music for teenagers. on an interview harry mentioned how he wanted to add some trumpets on olivia, but their producer never did it

and said he didn’t like it. if you look on tiktok, there’s a sound of what the song would’ve sounded with harry’s arrangement and it would’ve sounded amazing, but they just couldn’t have a sound that was a bit different.

zayn also spoke about this in an interview, where he explained how they would never take his ideas for music cause they were a bit different of “the band’s direction”

~ THEY WERE OVERWORKED

this is probably the part i’m gonna go into most detail cause it’s probably the worst. one direction’s contract allowed for them to endure constant work without necessary breaks. when we were younger we might’ve thought 5 records and 4 tours in 5 years+

was normal, but it wasn’t. they would make the boys play shows at night then record in the early morning and they were expected to function and do all of this perfectly.

their longest breaks were about 1-2 months, which usually were during the holidays. the rest of the year they were in constant work. promo, recording, worldwide tour, etc. no person can endure this much work and end up sane.

tw // mental health, anxiety, eating disorder, abuse of alcohol

from this point until the next subtitle i’m gonna talk be mentioning these topics a lot so if they make you uncomfortable pls skip it!!

they boys have talked quite a lot about what this excesive amount of works did to them. liam opened up about having alcohol issues during one direction as a way to cope with the pressure of the band. he opened up in an interview about this and luckily he’s recovered from it now.

harry also developed anxiety during one direction and said that it was because of simon. he said it as a “joke” in an interview, but given the history of both the band and simon, it wouldn’t be a surprised.

tw // eating disorder

i add an extra tw cause i know this topic is very triggering to so many.

as many may now, zayn opened up about developing an eating disorder during one direction. he admitten that at first he didn’t realize what it was and that it took him so time to+

come to terms with it. he said in an interview that he felt that food was the only thing he could control, since basically his life wasn’t his but management’s.

for those who like to make your stupid theories about zayn leaving and that it wasn’t for his mental health, think again and stop it. he even said the anxiety the band caused was followed him to this day and he has had to cancel solo shows because of it.

in an interview liam gave, he said at the beginning of the band, harry used to throw up before getting on stage for the amount of anxiety he’d have cause of the band

~ OVERWORK PT. 2

something i think is very important regarding the overwork but doesn’t include tw is some main events. one was when niall needed knee surgery but simon wouldn’t let him get it because he needed him to keep working. he also broke his foot once and well if u dk

you should rest after a surgery like the one niall had for his foot so the bone can heal properly, yet the day after it happen he was already up doing a show again cause they couldn’t miss one.

something else that happen was this one time harry had a sore throat on stage, yet was forced to keep singing until he lost his voice mid show and the other 3 had to help him with his parts.

here are also a few more things they have said about being overworked

~ THEY WERE NOT THE FRIENDS YOU THINK THEY WERE

some of you are not gonna like this part and won’t agree but, let’s face it, it’s cause you’re in denial. i hate to break it to you but one direction weren’t as close and good friends as yall may think.

something that marked one direction was that everyone thought they were super best friends that hung out all the time and were inseperable cause well thats what they wanted the world to think, let’s go back to the branding issue. i can assure this was very important for the brand

but since the break up we’ve found out this wasn’t like this at all and i bring several proof first therems this video of liam who says it clearly. they weren’t best mates

and also said this in another interview, explaining what the relationship between them was like

an anonymus source from the band’s team explained that louis and harry actually didn’t get along and that it was better for them if they didn’t interact or spent too much time together. note: i won’t discuss larry cause.. i don’t wanna stir shit up so yeah but anyways+

harry and louis were pretty good friends from 2010 to mid 2013, and slowly they stopped talking and interacting in public. some think it’s cause management told them to stop talking for.. certain rumors.. but apparently according to this source, it’s cause they had an issue

between them and couldn’t stand each other. they couldn’t record together or spend too much time in the same room. like the source says, the less time they had to spend with each other, the better for the band.

niall also talked about it saying that towards the end they couldn’t stand each other and were on each others throats so much that they were just in desperate need of a break

up to this day they’re not as close as yall think. they barely even talk, some more than others. liam talked about it last year. whenever they’re asked about talking to other members they usually answer the same thing, that they talk every now and then, not with all of them blah

they have even gotten to throw shade at each other. im not gonna mention names cause i don’t want this thread to cause a fight and for yall to attack me but remember when certain someone criticized someone else for his clothes? yeah so

something else that to me just proves they’re not the friends yall think is the fact that neither of them have come to defend harry these past few days that he’s been dragged for the vogue photoshoot. so many other celebrities and public figures have but his “best mates” not

and i think that says a lot.

this is not to throw shade not a bad thing ig. i mean if they’re not friends, they’re not friends. i feel like i should remind yall that they didn’t choose to be put together. they were an experiment that worked out. they auditioned as solo artists

so they weren’t really planning to get put together yk. they obviously had creative differences that affected them and personal differences as well. like liam said, you don’t get along with everyone you work with.

this is something else regarding this friendship thing. it has been said more than once that harry was always apologizing for the othee 4’s behavior since they were reckless and even rude which only added tension between them.

but yeah this is basically it. to sum up, one direction was an awful and toxic environment for them. they had no control of their lives, worked non stop without breakes with people they didn’t even get along with. they’re doing so much better as solo artists and yall should+

appreciate that a little bit more instead of wanting them to get back together. they’re finally doing what they love and the music each one of them like, under their own rules. and thats so much better for them!

if u got to here and didn’t let this flop thanks so much <3

also like i said i got most of my info from a yt video and i’ll leave the link here for anyone who wants to watch it. have a good day! mwah <3

my dumbass forgot to put the link here it is