Simon Cowell admitted his ,istake after receiving harsh reactions when he gave a verbal burst at the past member of the band earlier this week.
The X Factor head judge apologized for his error on saying an unappreciated joke about Zayn Malik.
Metro.co.uk reports, Cowell cracked the joke when he presented an award to One Direction remaining members Louis Tomlinson, Liam Payne, Niall Horan and Harry Style saying, 'Just my luck, I get the award I've been wanting all my life and I'm completely hammered,' he said. 'Guys, who misses Zayn?'
His joke didn't go down well so Louis, Liam, Niall and Harry choose to be silent for a minute. The 56-year-old man left the chart-toppers evidently uncomfortable.
Cowell persisted that he didn't meant harm by his words and clarify the joke throughout an interview on radio on Friday.
Simon told New York's Fresh 102.8, 'I just kind of thought when I was standing on stage with them, that they were back to being five, and I saw myself [being a part of] One Direction for a moment.
'That's when I made that quip, "Who needs Zayn?" which of course backfired hugely. So I apologise to any Zayn fans out there - it was meant as a joke.'
Simon created the five-piece band on X Factor in 2010 and then they signed to his record label Syco. In March the band became foursome after Zayn, 22, decided to leave the band to chase his solo career and pick to live a life of a usual 22-year-old.
After acquiring global success for almost five years, 1D broadcasted that they were taking an extended break, which is set to start early next year.
'When we started on X Factor we could never have imagined how Simon would change our lives,' 22-year-old Liam said.
