Zayn Malik Fans Launch Viral Hashtag #RemoveItForZayn Amid Gigi Hadid’s Pregnancy

From ELLE

Zayn Malik’s fans have launched the hashtag #RemoveItForZayn in an attempt to demand that Spotify remove an Islamophobic song, which is seemingly aimed at the singer.

A song titled ‘Zayn Did 9/11’ created by an artist named Uma Kompton was listed on the music steaming platform in 2017, JustJared reports.

Malik's fans realised the song was available for streaming on Spotify over the weekend and subsequently came to Malik’s defence. The song makes light of the terror attacks on September 11, 2001 in the US.

In 2016, BuzzFeed News reported about a Uma Kompton Twitter account which has posted about graphic and sexual content in recent years, in addition to trolling customer service representatives for United Airlines.

Over the weekend, several of Malik’s fans took to Twitter to urge Spotify to remove the song.

‘This is so f*cking racist and disgusting. Zayn is really one of the kindest people. How dare you call him a terrorist? #removeitforzayn,’ one user tweeted.

‘#removeitforzayn This is absolutely disgusting Spotify needs to get rid of this sh*t now!!!’ another wrote.

‘Guys don’t ignore this!! Email Spotify and Apple Music to make sure the song gets taken down,’ another wrote.

By Sunday evening, the streaming service removed the song from Kompton’s artist page.

According to Spotify, it does ‘not permit content whose principal purpose is to incite hatred or violence against people because of their race, religion, disability, gender identity, or sexual orientation.

‘As we’ve done before, we will remove content that violates that standard. We’re not talking about offensive, explicit, or vulgar content – we’re talking about hate speech.’

However, the song is still available to listen to on Apple Music and YouTube.

This isn’t the first time Malik has been affected by Islamophobia.

In 2017, the ‘Pillowtalk’ singer told the Evening Standard: ‘The first time I came to America, I had three security checks before I got on the plane; first they said that I’d been randomly selected, and then they said it was something to do with my name, it was flagging something on their system…

‘Then when I landed, it was like a movie. They kept me there for three hours, questioning me about all kinds of crazy stuff. I was 17, my first time in America, jet-lagged off the plane, confused. The same thing happened the next time too.’

Discussing his Muslim faith, which he shares with his pregnant girlfriend Gigi Hadid, Malik said that he takes ‘a great sense of pride — and responsibility — in knowing that I am the first of my kind, from my background [to be this successful in the entertainment industry].

‘I’m not currently practising but I was raised in the Islamic faith, so it will always be with me, and I identify a lot with the culture. But I’m just me. I don’t want to be defined by my religion or my cultural background,’ he added.

ELLE UK has contacted Apple Music and YouTube for comment.

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