Katseye is a group of six girls who debuted on the show, The Debut: Dream Academy. Recently, one member, Manon Bannerman, went on a sudden hiatus from group activities. This caused concern because the group had just started getting popular globally. Even though the official statement from their label, Hybe, explains that it was connected to her health and well-being, there is talk amongst fans that it goes beyond this. The reason for that is because she messaged fans on Weverse stating,“Hi friends. I want you to hear this from me, I’m healthy, I’m okay, and I’m taking care of myself. Thank u for checking in! Sometimes things unfold in ways we don’t fully control, but I’m trusting the bigger picture. Thank you for standing by me. I love you endlessly and can’t wait to see you again.” This confused fans who thought she wasn’t healthy, and some even went so far as to speculate that she won’t be returning. Let’s dig deeper into what this is really about.
According to official statements coming from Hybe x Geffen Records, Bannerman is taking a step back from group activities to focus on her health. It was an explanation that wasn’t detailed and usually in the K-pop industry when this happens, people don’t return to the group. One example of this is Jiyoon from Izna, who also had a health hiatus and ended up leaving the group. The K-pop industry has highly demanding schedules that can really take a toll on someone’s health. Most fans respected the response and just supported her, and they hope that she will come back when she is ready.
However, this hiatus has gone on for a long time. While Bannerman mentioned she would love to go to Coachella and couldn’t believe her dream was coming true, she unfortunately didn’t end up performing there. Some fans did end up seeing her there in the crowd, which made them wonder what is truly going on. Is this really a break or are they pushing her away from the group to see if they will be successful without her?
There has also been their new single “Pinky Up,” where they had left her out of the promotions and the whole song in general. Although, there is a theory that they re-recorded everything without her, and one of the members, Daniela Avanzini, had taken most of Bannerman’s supposed parts. This made fans furious as the label seems like they are trying to create the image that Bannerman isn’t a part of the group anymore.
Looking further into why fans were upset, Megan Skiendiel had an injury during SIS (Soft is Strong) promotions. But as we look at the “My Way” music video, we see she is still featured in the video even though she was injured. Another case is Lara Raj who was injured during the recording of “Gameboy.” They still found a way to add her to the music video even though she wasn’t dancing. With Bannerman, there are two cases where she was excluded from a music video. One being “Pinky Up,” and the other being during “Gabriela,” the performance music video. She may’ve had an injury, but despite being on set for the video recording, she had not appeared in the music video at all; it was only five of the girls. Then, the incident with the Monster High collab where she was not featured on the page. Also, everyone said something about their doll while she barely had any screentime. She was even left out of the Pandora collab, where she wasn’t posted on Pinterest while all the other girls were. Some people think it is because of her race that they are mistreating her, and others think it’s because she was taking her health into account. It is not confirmed if the managing label wanted this or if she wanted this. Although, this goes into why fans are so mad about them not including her.
This hiatus surrounding Bannerman shows how close fans are to artists when it’s one of their favorites. In today’s world, when someone is absent, people will notice and make it a point to know what is going on. It creates support, but also in this case, it creates rumors about the other members and the company in general.
For now, the last thing we heard from Bannerman is when a fan saw her at In-N-Out Burger and asked her about Coachella. She replied, “I wish.” Bannerman is also still on a temporary hiatus and hasn’t left the group officially. Fans still wait for an update, and some are even concerned she won’t come back after the removal of Katseye posts from her Instagram page.
We don’t know if this will end up actually being a temporary break or if this is going to be a huge turning point in Kateye’s career, but it has already highlighted how people react when something is wrong. For many supporters, people do wish she takes her time and returns when she is ready. Until more official statements from the company come out, this is basically the story of if this is really a health break or not. Hopefully, this story ends with her coming back to the group. We know the fans miss her so much.