One Direction learned last week that American media can rival European outlets in aggressiveness when it comes to prying open the personal space of celebrities.

The boy band performed on ABC’s “Good Morning America” for the show’s summer concert series in Central Park, a day ahead of headlining MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, N.J. In addition to singing the new single, “Drag Me Down,” all four gentlemen sat down for an interview with hosts Michael Strahan and Lara Spencer.

It was a rather run-of-the-mill interview until about two and a half minutes in.

“Well I gotta say Louis, from one father to another, I want to congratulate you on your upcoming fatherhood,” Strahan lobbed in the direction of Louis Tomlinson. People Magazine reported a few weeks ago that Tomlinson was expecting a child with Los Angeles stylist Briana Jungwirth. Despite a number of outlets following suit with various updates citing numerous sources, the closest anyone got to a confirmation was a radio interview in which band mate Liam Payne said how excited he was for Tomlinson.

But last Tuesday, the collective reaction of 1D told the story: the guys looked stunned, and clearly were taken aback that Strahan would force Tomlinson to confirm the news in front of a live, national TV audience.

“Thank you,” the singer replied. “Obviously it’s a very exciting time so I’m buzzing. Thank you.”

The guys then went over six seconds – feeling closer to eternity – without speaking. Spencer broke the silence by noting Harry Styles seemed a little quiet.

“No!” he shot back, sitting straight up in his chair. “I’m having a great time.”

Waking up at the crack of dawn to perform on a show, only to have two of the show’s hosts attempt to get your best friend to break his silence on a pregnancy sounds like a lovely way to spend a Tuesday morning.

We don’t know how far along Jungwirth is in her pregnancy, nor do we know if she has had any complications to this point. I pray she has not, but regardless it’s none of our business. And if Strahan really wanted to congratulate Tomlinson “from one father to another,” he would have done so from one man to another, when the cameras weren’t rolling.

Photo: https://instagram.com/michaelstrahan/