The Angst of Being a One Direction Fan in the Age of Zayn Malik’s Departure

This came in from Billboard on Wednesday. Although it could have been an April Fool’s joke, I don’t think it was.

Ladies crying over the departure of Zayn Malik from One Direction are not a problem for Madame Tussauds wax museum.

The famed attraction has hired tissue attendants for their London location, as well as boxes of tissues for fans overcome by their 1D breakup feels. (This really seems like an April Fools’ joke, but apparently it’s not.) Yahoo UK notes this isn’t even the first time the One Direction room has needed tissues — previously, the site needed tissue support on hand for fans happy-crying because they were in the same room with the guys just like they had always imagined! (The wax statues are pretty lifelike.)

Oy. Imagine the distress of the person who has this gig. We, however, can’t be too critical of the young ladies who find themselves upset at Zayn’s departure. This comes from The Independent:

So how serious is it for young people when someone leaves their favourite band? Sam Challis, the information manager for Mind and a mental-health expert, insists we should all be a little kinder to those upset over the news.

“For people of a certain age, it may not seem like it should be a big deal,” he says. “But for those going through it, they are experiencing a real sense of loss. It’s probably akin to the death of a pet or a distant relative. It’s quite natural. And it should be seen the same way. It’s a stress and grief reaction to something. If it’s a big part of someone’s life then it is totally reasonable and right that they’d be upset about it.”

And before we get too glib, note that #cut4zayn trended on Twitter this week with young fans showing pictures of self-harm, claiming that they were all bound together in their sadness. That’s not funny at all.