Zayn Malik appeared on the Call Her Daddy podcast this week for a wide-ranging chat with host Alex Cooper.
During the conversation, Zayn spoke openly about raising his daughter Khai, whom he shares with his ex Gigi Hadid.
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Zayn and Gigi have coparented Khai, who is now 5, since they parted ways in 2021. And while they tend to keep a low profile when it comes to coparenting together, Zayn lifted the lid on a disagreement they recently had over how much money he decided to give Khai from the tooth fairy.
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Noting that he is happy to go above and beyond when it comes to providing for Khai, given that he didn’t come from wealth or grow up with much disposable income, Zayn admitted, “I think I gave her a bit too much money from the tooth fairy.”Alex then asked, “How much are we talking?” to which Zayn revealed, “£500.” (Which is roughly $680, BTW!)
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Alex was (understandably) visibly shocked at Zayn’s revelation, prompting the singer to say: “It was her first tooth! … Her mom gave me shit about it, and I was like, at the end of the day, I work my ass off, and I should be able to give my kid what I wanna give,” he shared.
Alex said, “Hold on. I may have to agree with her mom on this one.” Zayn replied, “Yeah, a lot of people do… It was her first tooth, though! … I’m gonna keep that one and frame it.”
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“She’s my first kid. Give me a break,” Zayn said, addressing people who might disagree with his decision to give his 5-year-old such a large amount of money.
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“People in general obviously look at it a certain type of way, but at the end of the day, I was lucky if I got anything for my teeth. And I’ve worked really hard for everything I’ve earned, so I don’t feel like I should have to answer for them things, you know?” he said.
Zayn went on to add that he knows he “overcompensates” when it comes to providing Khai with things he didn’t get growing up.
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As Zayn seemingly anticipated, many people have since raised their eyebrows at his very generous tooth-fairy gift. “What is the difference between $5 and $500 to a child that age. Pure vanity to do something like that,” one Reddit user suggested, while someone else echoed, “That’s a ridiculous amount of money to give to a child regardless of how well off you are.”
“As a parent, this is so annoying. Kids compare what the tooth fairy brings and want to know why some of their friends get $500 a tooth while some get $5,” someone wrote.
“500$ for a fucking tooth?! Rich people are something else, dude. That kid is gonna go to school and brag about the tooth fairy giving her 500$, then the kids who only get 5$ are gonna wonder wtf makes her teeth so special,” another person echoed.
Amid the backlash, several people empathized with Gigi’s reaction. “As she should. Awful parenting on his part,” someone said, while another user said, “This makes me like Gigi a lot more tbh. From the pictures she posts, it seems she’s trying to give her child an actual childhood; one that isn’t defined by money but by love, creativity and imagination.”
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“I love that Gigi was like do not spoil her lmaoo,” one Instagram comment read. “I’m with Gigi on this one,” someone else said.
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But at the same time, some people totally understood Zayn’s point of view. “I think this is more reflective of where he comes from. He loves his kid and wants to spoil them,” one person suggested, while another added, “He says he overcompensates because he grew up super poor, I kinda emphasize with that.”
“Honestly, as long as he’s also teaching her how to be responsible with the money and she’s a good, kind kid, I don’t see a problem with this,” one more user said.
Let us know what you think in the comments, and check out the full Call Her Daddy podcast episode here.More on this
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