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When it comes to why Zayns t-shirt was off … our sources say he was using one at the billiards joint, but its unclear exactly when or why he took it off.

Sources close to the situation tell TMZ … Zayn was smoking a cigarette outside Amsterdam Billiards Club in the East Village after 2 AM when a group of men came out of Little Sister Lounge next door and an altercation taken place.

TMZ.com

Were informed the person in the video going after Zayn attempted to pick a fight … and moods were definitely flaring, as you can see.

Though the argument came extremely close to a physical fight, were told no punches were ever tossed and cops were not included.

In any occasion, the guy lunged at the previous One Direction star, and supposedly called Zayn the homophobic f-word … and Zayn tossed back some insults.

Zayn Malik got into a heated conflict with a male outside a Manhattan bar in which a homophobic slur got tossed around … and Zayn ended up shirtless.