Photo: Michael Tullberg/Getty Images
Katseye’s Manon Bannerman has emerged with an update about her hiatus from the girl group. After more than a month away, Manon shared a statement saying that she has been having “positive conversations” with HYBE x Geffen, the joint music conglomerate that created and manages Katseye.
Back in February, HxG announced that Manon would be taking a “temporary hiatus” to focus on her health. She followed that up with a statement of her own, telling fans, “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.”
On Thursday, Manon shared a new statement on Weverse, a South Korean app specializing in artist-to-fan dispatches. “Thank you so much for all the love and support you’ve been sending my way,” she wrote. “I’m really grateful for the patience and kindness everyone has shown during this time. HxG and I are having positive conversations and I feel supported. I’m happy and I’m healthy. I’ll share more soon. Thank you for always being there for me.”
What does that mean? Well, it’s not really clear. Since the announcement of her hiatus, fans have speculated that Manon is actually leaving the group for good. While you could read her new statement as going either way, we do have a bit of a clue: As of Thursday afternoon, Manon no longer has “Katseye” in her Instagram bio.
In an interview with The Cut from February, Manon spoke about the struggles that came with being the only Black woman in the group. “Being called lazy, especially as a Black girl, is not fair,” she said. “Now I feel like I always need to put in extra work to prove something, even though I really don’t.” After news of her hiatus broke, Manon appeared to follow Normani and Leigh-Anne Pinnock, two women who have also spoken openly about being the lone Black woman in a girl group. Responding to a fan, Pinnock said that the three women “need to protect each other.”
Manon’s update comes just a week before the first weekend of Coachella, where Katseye is slated to perform. Hopefully all those “positive conversations” can come to a resolution by then?
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