Payne, 21, jokingly hid his bandmate's face with his hand on the printed board as he, Tomlinson, Harry Styles and Niall Horan posed for a photograph with some fans.
Uploading the image on his Twitter account, Payne wrote, "#makinglightofasituation sorry for the laughs guys (sic)."
Although some fans didn't see the funny side of the post, with one - Gorgia Rose - writing, "How dare you cover Zayn's face? Don't do it again."
And Ana Evans added, "@Real_Liam_Payne what the? Why you covering Zayn's face? Am sorry but I can't see the humour in making joke of a friennd's absence due to stress (sic).
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