Did Sam Smith Just Shade Zayn Malik’s Beyoncé Cover?

Zayn Malik fans were happy Friday when he announced that a new album was on the way. But the announcement seemingly came with a little shade from fellow singer Sam Smith.

"Album is on the way. Got a few surprises for you too .. here’s a taster," Malik tweeted along with a cover of Beyoncé's "Me, Myself and I.” Malik’s on-and-off girlfriend Gigi Hadid responded favourably to the cover, but Smith had a different reaction. A few hours later he posted a photo of himself draped across the top of what looks to be a couch, with the caption, “Driver roll up the partition please.”

Now this photo could mean one of many things. It could be the beginning of a “who’s the biggest Beyoncé fan” feud. It could mean that Smith believes Malik’s cover was pure trash and he’s requesting the partition be rolled up to block out the God-awful sound. Or Smith could just be reeling from his rumored recent split from 13 Reasons Why actor Brandon Flynn, and the shade (or, possibly, thirst trap) was actually towards his ex. My money is on the latter.

Ever since the news broke that the “Stay With Me” singer and Flynn, who plays troubled teen Justin Foley on the hit series, had called it quits, Smith’s actions have been rather interesting on social media. Ask any millennial: a couple isn't officially official until there’s a photo of them together on Instagram. And there’s no greater sign that the relationship is dead than deleting said photo and unfollowing them. Not only did Smith remove every trace of Flynn from his Instagram feed, he also unfollowed the actor, and has since been posting cryptic messages similar to the partition one. Photos of Smith are still visible on Flynn’s account, though.

Pictures of Smith and Flynn first surfaced in October 2017, and the couple officially went public with their relationship in December. They reportedly called it quits last weekend.

While neither party has made an official statement regarding the status of their relationship, Smith recently hinted that things were over. “I’m going through some shit,” he reportedly told the audience during the Brooklyn stop of his The Thrill Of It All Tour this past week.

Many of us can identify with going through a tough breakup and doing the most random things to cope with the heartbreak, so let’s just hope that that’s what’s happening with Smith right now. If not, I can’t say that I want a Sam-Zayn feud, but I’m not opposed to one — or hearing some soulful, contemporary R&B diss tracks either.