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Zayn Malik fans are feeling very sorry for the One Direction star after a lookalike contest took place in New York with some less-than-realistic entries.
Hundreds of contestants who believe they bear likeness to the Dusk Till Dawn singer, 31, descended on the Bushwick neighbourhood of Brooklyn after organiser Jaz Arnold was inspired by the viral Timothée Chalamet contest.
Three people made it to the final before one was crowned the winner, but fans weren’t exactly convinced the finalists looked like Zayn.
Some fans went as far as apologising to the pop superstar, while others asked if the lookalike was ‘in the room with us right now.’
‘Make me the judge for those look alike contests rn I’m running those like it’s the navy y’all have lost your minds. Zayn Malik I’m so sorry,’ Solifzu wrote on X.
Whaatdee added: ‘Zayn baby, I’m sorry they disrespected you like this,’ while Duhnasiaaa said: ‘I went to the Zayn Malik competition today and no one will ever compare to that man’s face card I’m sorry.’
A Zayn Malik lookalike contest was held in New York (Picture: Andy Kropa/Invision/AP)
Fans were sceptical that the finalists even looked like the One Direction singer (Picture: Andy Kropa/Invision/AP)
However, they gushed over how attractive the lookalikes were to the real Zayn, above (obviously) (Picture: Gotham/GC Images)
‘i’m sorry but the dude looks nothing like zayn, y’all are blind 😭,’ AmesforJakes said of winner Shiv Patel.
Many other fans expressed the same sentiments and were raging that the finalists didn’t exactly look like the singer.
‘Winners of Zayn Malik “least” lookalike contest,’ Temporary-Neck-968 said on Reddit, while Funny_Lab9580 reasoned ‘Maybe they were out of options?’
Federal_Street_8895 said ‘none of them looked anything like him’, adding: ‘Honestly only the Chalamets were lookalikes, the rest from what I’ve seen weren’t even close but this has to be the worst result yet.’
While a vast amount of fans agreed that the contestants didn’t exactly resemble the Night Changes hitmaker, they were at least thrilled that they were easy on the eye.
‘Yo this is such a great place to find a handsome boyfriend not zayn lookalike,’ Zaynsnillt wrote on X.
Katneptune_ agreed: ‘The Zayn lookalike contest might be the only one where contestants genuinely thought it’s for looking pretty and I’m kinda gagged lol.’
Sharing a picture of one of the contestants, Zaynhq_ said: ‘Looks nothing like Zayn but he won .. the chance to get my number!!!’
The Zayn competition is the latest in a string of lookalike contests (Picture: Andy Kropa/Invision/AP)
Ava stated: ‘Guys at Zayn’s lookalike contest be finer than some of y’all favs… goddamn.’
In a video posted to X, the winner of the competition, Shiv Patel, said he had been ‘waiting for this moment since high school.’
However, when asked what his favourite One Direction song was, he dodged the question saying how could he ‘possibly choose.’
This bizarre contest is the latest in a growing trend which has seen events themed around The Bear’s Jeremy Allen White, write and political correspondent Jack Schlossberg, and Zayn’s former bandmate Harry Styles.
Earlier this month, a hoard of Paul Mescal lookalikes flocked to Dublin in a similar contest.
It all began with the now famous Chalamet lookalike contest held in New York last month that attracted thousands of attendees after being advertised online and through flyers.
The 28-year-old actor – best known for his roles in Wonka, Dune, and Call Me By Your Name – made a surprise appearance at the event, but sadly wasn’t crowned the winner.
As well as bearing a likeness to the actor, entrants were quizzed on their romantic intentions with Jenner, and their French language skills, to see which Chalamet clone would come out on top.
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