It's a law of nature: every boy band has 'the cute one.' N'Sync had Lance Bass. Backstreet Boys had Nick Carter. BTS has J-hope. One Direction had Niall Horan...until the group split in 2016.

When the band broke down, so did Niall's pure and sweet public persona. From accusations of plagiarism, to report after report of Niall disrespecting his own fans (and more troubling behavior detailed below), this Irishman seemed to be running out of luck.

He wasn't the only member to lose his squeaky-clean shine, however. If you were watching closely, you'd have seen the dirt collecting on 1D members for a while. The boys Simon Cowell pulled into an X-Factor super group got less and less innocent as their time in the spotlight wore on.

We've compiled a list of 20 shady facts people tend to forget about Niall and his former band. To put it in 1D's own lyrical terms, we've found the very un-Perfect 'Little Things' and Moments in One Direction's History that prove even these Heroes aren't actually Fireproof. Let's get into it!

20 Niall Says They Could Have Killed Each Other Before Splitting

You might want to imagine Niall, Zayn, Louis, Liam, and Harry as best pals touring the world and building tighter friendships by the day. In reality, the boys wore each other down. In Niall's words to The Mirror: "We were gonna end up killing each other. We all sat down one day, had a chat and it was like. We need to take a break, chill out.'"

19 Niall Majorly Shaded a Fan on IG

When one of 1D's billions (yes, billions) of fans made an IG poll asking if she and Niall Horan should date, Niall himself somehow thought it was okay to respond with the 'no' option. The girl was crushed and publicly embarrassed, according to StudentEdge.org. (Sidenote: Before seeing this pic, did you know Niall had a beard? Werk.)

18 1D Ripped Off Another Band’s Music Video

Remember the infinitely meme-able 1D music video for You and I? It featured the band members slowly morphing into each other as they walked down a British boardwalk. According to Daily Mail, loads of fans recognized it as being "noticeably similar" to the video for Everything You Wanted by Clubfeet. You can judge for yourself here.

17 Even Celebs Think 1D Songs Are Plagiarized

It's not uncommon for musicians to comment on each other's work, and plenty have called One Direction's songs suspiciously familiar. According to Huffington Post, Hayley Williams from Paramore took the general plagiarism critique a step further when she heard Steal My Girl for the first time, tweeting: "[The] beginning of that new 1D song couldn't sound any more like the beginning of @newfoundglory's 'its not your fault' but..."

16 Liam Had Substance Abuse Problems During 1D’s Heyday

While Niall was the cute one of the group, Liam was the dad one. He admitted it himself in the 1D tour documentary! But his calm, responsible demeanor was deceiving. Liam told hosts of the podcast, Table Manners: "I went through a stage in the band when I was drinking really heavily - I was just really drunk every day. I didn't see what was looking back at me in the mirror."

15 Niall Swore at Fans in an Airport

You're not ready for this one. When greeting fans at a Dublin airport in 2018, Niall actually shouted "You shower of c**ts." People were so offended that he had to apologize publicly on Twitter. "Really sorry if I caused any offence," he explained. "It was just banter with fans who I think of more as mates. But I understand that it's not a word I should be using at all."

14 Niall and Harry Hired Girls to Dance for Them

Harry's birthday in 2016 involved some hired performers, and they weren't fellow singers. Pictures of the wild b-day bash night feature him and Niall enjoying some scantily-clad dancers in ways that no young 1D fan should ever have to see. Footage circulated of Harry getting a 'lap dance,' but the boys still have yet to acknowledge it. They party hard!

13 Fans Called Niall Out for His Bad Smoking Habits

One Direction fans are notoriously protective of these boys. It was unusual for them to speak out against one of the band member's actions, but that's exactly what they did in 2015, when it became clear that Niall had picked up a smoking addiction. @QueiGabriella captured the fans' general sentiment with her tweet: "I'm sad, you let me down".

12 One of Their VMA Wins Might Have Been Fixed

Back in 2013, Miley Cyrus left the VMAs before the Song of the Summer award winner was announced. Hinting on Twitter that something fishy might have been up, she wrote: "Leaving the VMAs. No it's not over. I'm no psychic but congrats @onedirection #songofthesummer." 1D did actually win it that night, and some people thought Miley's statement was more than a lucky guess.

11 The Boys Unfollow Each Other on the Reg

It's further proof that this band's BFF image was carefully crafted and not actually authentic. The friendships haven't even lasted on a surface, social media level since 1D broke up! Louis and Zayn are particularly petty online. Liam first unfollowed Zayn after the latter wrote publicly: "Remember when you had a life and stopped making b*tchy comments about mine?" Ouch.

10 Niall is Majorly Rude to One Particular Sports Team

It's not just individual fans that Niall disrespects online and IRL. He's got beef with Leeds United, an England-based soccer (or to UK readers, football) team. The Irish Mirror reports that Niall and the team's official Twitter account have an ongoing fight, with gems like Niall's tweet, "No one likes Leeds" and their response, "No one likes your solo career. #BringBack1D." At least the team can hold their own.

9 Harry Keeps Getting with Older (And Married) Women

Harry Styles can basically have any girl he wants, yet again and again he cozies up to women much older than himself. We're talking MORE THAN A DECADE OLDER. His conquests include British TV presenter Caroline Flack (40) and DJ Lucy Horobin (also 40), who was married at the time of their hookup. Harry told the Sunday Mirror he "had no idea she was still married," but come on, dude.

8 Zayn Might Never Do a Reunion Tour

He might seem friendly enough with them, but Zayn has actually put a lot of distance between himself and the rest of the boys. It's unclear why, but Niall told The Telegraph that Zayn might be too far gone to reconnect with the group: "He is doing his own thing and I don’t know what would happen with Zayn if the conversation came up to get the band back together."

7 1D Used Live, Chained Up Animals for the ‘Steal My Girl’ Video

According to Huffington Post, animal rights activists were outraged when this picture surfaced from the set of 1D's song, Steal My Girl. It's clear that the monkey they're using in the video has a chain around its neck. The UK-based charity, Wild Futures, called for the entire video to be pulled, and a One Direction spokesperson had to insist publicly that no animals were harmed.

6 Liam Thinks Harry and Zayn Were ‘Selfish’ Breaking Up the Band

In a radio interview with Nova FM, Liam admitted resenting his bandmates who had solo ambitions (Harry and Zayn). "I felt like I really was building up confidence in myself and in my place within the band and as a songwriter in the band. So that process was kind of a little uncomfortable." He said the boys going solo were making "selfish decisions based on themselves." Where is the lie?

5 Niall Says He 'Got Tired' of the Band

While Liam was getting frustrated with the egos of his friends, Niall was just getting tired of the entire boy band situation. Despite the smiling selfies he shared in those final months of 1D touring, he wasn't loving it. Trouble in paradise? "It was incredible. But we got tired. Not tired of it, just tired out." He said this fatigue led to "brotherly family nagging, s****y arguments like that."

4 Zayn Was Caught Trying to Hook Up with Fans

While on tour with One Direction, Zayn was filmed through a peep hole by two hotel guests conducting some shady conversations. Metro reports that while a bodyguard was ushering a pretty young fan away, Zayn could be heard telling her: "Listen, wait about half an hour and come to my room. I wanna know how old you are." He later tweeted: "I'd like apologize for basically being a s**t person."

This is NEVER an okay thing to do - not even to your closest friends. In the summer of 2019, Niall snapped a pic of Louis getting either into or out of a shower and shared it to his own social media stories. People went nuts (understandably) and yet again, Niall had to apologize, according to E!Online.

2 There Were Loads of Illegal Substances on 1D Tours

The antics of 1D members on tour were mostly kept under wraps, until videos surfaced online featuring Zayn and Louis getting up to no good while on tour in Peru. They were shown smoking while Louis tells the camera: "Here we are, joint lit. Happy days!" He also lets slip that drugs were "one very, very important factor of Zayn’s warm up." Yikes.

1 Niall Might Have Plagiarized His Latest Album Art

Check out Niall's album art for Nice to Meet Ya here. The Australian band, Gang of Youths, claims it's too similar to the album art for their single, Say Yes to Life, which you can see for yourself here. Gang of Youths posted side-by-sides of these covers on IG and fans agreed it was sus. What do you think? Is it a stretch or a steal?

Sources: eOnline, Metro.co.uk, HuffPost.com, Telegraph.co.uk, YouTube.com, Mirror.co.uk, TheSun.co.uk