Abby Laurie ‘26. Student Life Editor
Long before a statement was posted, fans noticed something felt off. KATSEYE—a six-member global girl group formed from a survival television show “The Debut: Dream Academy” in 2023 in partnership with HYBE Entertainment and Geffen Records—have recently undergone tremendous drama within fans’ speculations of a member’s “temporary” hiatus. The six members of KATSEYE include Sophia Laforteza, Manon Bannerman, Daniela Avanzini, Lara Raj, Megan Skiendiel, and Yoonchae Jeung.
On Feb. 20, a statement from KATSEYE’s company, HYBE, and their label, Geffen, released a statement that Manon Bannerman will be taking a “temporary hiatus from the group to focus on her health and well-being” while the rest of the girls will continue with scheduled promotions. This statement sparked a massive debate online with fans’ theories as to the reason for her hiatus, since there was no mention of her return and the consistent “HYBE curse” —a pattern where members of HYBE girl groups have either left or been kicked out of their groups. K-pop group, LE SSERAFIM—which was the first girl group to debut under HYBE—originally had six members in their group. In July 2022, former LE SSERAFIM member, Kim Ga-ram was removed from the group because of school bullying scandals that surfaced before the group’s debut and was allegedly proven to be true by her former school.
The third girl group to debut under HYBE is NewJeans. This group originally had five members: Hanni Pham, Danielle June Marsh, Kang Hae-rin, Kim Min-ji, and Lee Hye-in. As of January, Danielle June Marsh has been removed from the group along with a terminated contract by label ADOR after a legal dispute. The termination resulted from a breach of contract, establishing a $30 million lawsuit against her, her family member, and former CEO Min Hee-jin according to an article by Forbes. The fourth girl group to debut under HYBE is Illit. This group originally had six members. Before Illit’s debut in 2024, Lee Youngseo left the line-up due to a mutual contract termination with BELIFT LAB, and reasons were kept private. Due to all of these conflicts, EYEKONS, the fandom name for KATSEYE, have found Bannerman’s hiatus to be suspicious since this has been an ongoing recurrence through HYBE.
Other than the HYBE curse, EYEKONS have noticed mistreatment from HYBE x Geffen towards Bannerman. From the start, on the survival show “The Debut: Dream Academy,” each member of the group was hand picked and Bannerman was stated to be “star quality.” This put a lot of pressure on her because she was named “star quality” due to her visuals, but not her skills as a dancer or singer. This caused outrage amongst the other contestants of the show and called Bannerman unprofessional because she often did not go to practices, which made them feel as if she did not deserve to debut with the group and did not deserve that title. In the show, Bannerman, Raj, and Jeung were some of the contestants that were brought in later. Although they all had the same amount of time on the show, they said Bannerman did not work as hard as the other girls. According to an article by them.us, there were many other contestants who did not attend practice, but did not receive the same backlash as Bannerman, showing the mistreatment she has had against her, even before debuting.
Additionally, in some of KATSEYE’s earlier songs, EYEKONS noticed that Bannerman has been positioned at the back and hidden behind the center dancer and other members during the chorus, making it hard to see her. Specifically, in their song “Debut,” she was consistently in the back, even though all of the other members changed their positions. Fans theorize this was an intentional move by HYBE to purposefully shield Bannerman from being seen. Again, the website them.us mentioned, KATSEYE participated in a billboard ad for Glossier on Instagram in May 2025; however, many fans noticed that Bannerman was not visible. Similarly, on an Instagram post by Matrix, KATSEYE was promoting their products. In the beginning, all of the members got a solo shot, except Bannerman. Many fans are saying this is related to her hiatus and how they think it will not be a hiatus, but a permanent removal from the group. EYEKONS believe that HYBE x Geffen have planned for this all along, relating to examples of her not being present in many group activities since the beginning.
Further creating drama, one of the members’ dads included his input into the matter. Rafael Avanzini, Daniela’s dad, commented on social media about Bannerman taking a hiatus. According to an article by THE EXPRESS TRIBUNE, on Feb. 21, on an Instagram post regarding Bannerman’s hiatus, he said, “THE SHOW MUST GO ON! With or without a member. KATSEYE IS BIGGER THAN ONE GIRL,” and, “We need girls who can grind. KATSEYE is [a] power house the show must go on.” His comments suggested that he thinks Bannerman was not needed in the group, and that KATSEYE is still KATSEYE with or without her. Then, on Feb. 22, he commented on Instagram again: “Come back when you are ready to work.” A fan responded to this comment asking, “If you loved her, you wouldn’t have made that comment about Bannerman knowing that people would attack Dani.” And here, he responded saying, “EYEKONS will [be] EYEKONS. I talked with Dani before anything.” The exchanges between comments led to discussion about the internal conflicts within KATSEYE, and specifically, whether Avanzini revealed those conflicts to her family.
After all the gossip circulating online, Bannerman finally sent out a notice on Weverse: “Hi friends, I want you to hear this from me, I’m healthy, I’m okay, and I’m taking care of myself. Thank you 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.” Fans pointed out a specific sentence in her follow-up: “Sometimes things unfold in ways we don’t fully control.” EYEKONS have been discussing how this could actually allude to a permanent removal rather than a hiatus.
Additionally, fans have been questioning possible racial discrimination towards Bannerman. Bannerman is the only black member of the group with her background being Swiss-Ghanian. Other Black female artists that have experienced similar scenarios have surfaced through social media. Melody Thornton, a former member of the girl group Pussycat Dolls, who is a mix of Mexican and African-American, wrote on Instagram, “We see you,” referring to a post about Bannerman. Thornton has had her own previous issues as a Black member in a girl group and had even left the group due to toxic environments and to pursue a solo career. An article by bet.com states, “I’m coming into the situation [as] the one Black and brown girl of mostly Caucasian women…I did not want to be scary doll.” An article by Rolling Stone states that both Bannerman and Thornton have been called lazy, showing similarities of discrimination within these industries. Furthermore, the only black member of another disbanded girl group, Boys World, also commented on the hiatus. Rolling Stone said, “I know about all of the pressure, especially to be the only Black girl in a group, and I just feel like nobody knows what that’s like until you’re in her shoes.”
Continually, in a more recent situation, Normani from Fifth Harmony followed Bannerman on Instagram. Normani shares her issues with Fifth Harmony: “I didn’t get to really sing in the group. I felt like I was overlooked,” according to an Allure cover story in 2021. Normani faced many racist remarks from Fifth Harmony fans, which was one of the reasons she left the group. Lastly, Leigh-Anne Pinnock, who is a previous member of the girl group Little Mix, released her debut solo album My Ego Told Me To the same day Bannerman announced her hiatus. Following the release of the album, Pinnock also followed Bannerman on Instagram, as well as Normani, and wrote “We need to protect each other,” according to an article by Billboard. All of the support from other Black female artists have circulated and fans are making connections. Even more artists, such as Lizzo, have spoken out.
News stories, articles, and videos are circulating all across social media including a Hashtag supporting Bannerman. Fans are curious about the real reason behind the hiatus. This leaves the debate open. Are all of these things coincidences? Is the HYBE curse real? Is Bannerman really being neglected? And finally, is Bannerman’s “hiatus” just “temporary?”
Lyon Life 