Oof.

In a sad attempt to capitalize on a buzzworthy story and its coincidental timing with April Fools' Day, syndicated morning radio personalities Johnjay and Rich attempted to grab audience and headlines with an "exclusive interview" with One Direction defector Zayn Malik on Wednesday (April 1).

After making listeners suffer through five minutes of commercials past the interview's reported start time, the show took a call from "Zayn" and probed him on which One Direction member is the most annoying, whether he'd ever been hit on by a man, and other mindless, clearly joke questions. To make things even more obnoxious, radio static and feedback obscured the alleged Zayn's answers.

Within seconds, it was obvious to any true Directioner that the interview was fake. The actor portraying Zayn sounded nothing like him and at one point even repeated quotes originally made by Harry Styles on Jimmy Kimmel Live! 

The episode just goes to show that you can't take any outrageous-seeming news for granted on April Fools' Day. Overall, this prank was pretty mean-spirited. As PopCrush already pointed out, Directioners have been devastated by the recent developments, and condescending to or taking advantage of their hopes essentially amounts to bullying. The show's biggest offensive, however? The bit just wasn't funny.

As previously reported, Zayn Malik left One Direction in March after rumors that he cheated on his fiancée Perrie Edwards began to circulate online. He issued a statement about his departure, citing exhaustion and stress. The remainder of 1D, though sad, have already bounced back and returned to the stage as a foursome. In fact, a new album is reportedly already in the organizational stages.

Oh, and speaking of fake things: The leaked Zayn Malik solo track "I Won't Mind" said to have been produced by U.K. DJ Naughty Boy? Not real. Turns out the song was just a old scrapped One Direction demo.

Think You Know One Direction?

See Yearbook Photos of Zayn Malik + More Celebs

More From PopCrush