One Direction Liam Payne and Justin Bieber Feud? Beliebers & Arianators vs. Directioners Battle Over Twitter Joke

When Liam Payne tweeted a picture of a backstage photoshoot with fans, he had no idea what was coming. Payne posed with One Direction bandmates Harry Styles, Louis Tomlinson and Niall Horan behind what looks like a fan-made sign decorated with photos of Payne, Styles, Tomlinson, Horan and missing bandmate Zayn Malik, who recently dropped out of the band's On The Road Again Tour due to stress, sparking rumors of a permanent exit from One Direction. In the photo captioned "#makinglightofasituation sorry for the laughs guys," Payne jokingly coveres up Malik's face with his hand, seemingly poking fun at Malik's hiatus. According to MTV, Payne's tweet upset a disgruntled Ariana Grande fan apparently looking to start a Twitter war with Payne.

#makinglightofasituation sorry for the laughs guys pic.twitter.com/p9GyIMLALV

— Liam (@Real_Liam_Payne) March 23, 2015

The Grande fan @arianasmcann, who apparently also pledges allegiance to the Justin Bieber fandom, reportedly tweeted Payne an angry response that read, "@Real_Liam_Payne Isn't it kinda depressing for you to know that Justin Bieber will always be more successful than you?" Payne shot back, "how many times have I been arrested," hinting at Bieber's legal troubles, and later, "Some people can't take a joke ... Bit of banter guys chill out," when other Bieber fans got involved.

Liam is disgusting. Justin apologized several times for his mistakes, he deserves so much respect. I don't know why people idolize Liam — Hailey (@arianasmccann) March 23, 2015

The exchange quickly snowballed into a Belieber/Arianator vs. Directioner fandom battle when @arianasmcann started tweeting threats at Payne like "#BeliebersWantOneDirectionDead." However, Directioners were quick to respond with their own digs at Bieber and his fans. Reportedly, Bieber has yet to respond to the Twitter fan battle or Payne's comments. It's anyone's guess how long the feud between the notoriously rabid fandoms will last, or how Bieber will respond, if he does. Payne appears to have stepped away from the feud for now, but no word yet on whether Bieber will address Payne's comments personally.

At least Justin loves his fans

— Hailey (@arianasmccann) March 23, 2015