Last week (Feb. 20), KATSEYE sent shockwaves through the global music industry with the announcement that Manon, one of its buzziest members, would be taking a hiatus to “focus on her mental health and wellbeing.”
Born in Switzerland, Manon (full name: Manon Bannerman) first gained notoriety through sharing fashion and lifestyle videos on TikTok and Instagram in 2021. Her departure has rocked KATSEYE’s fanbase, as well as the culture, largely because of her status as the group’s sole Black member. The current situation has triggered reflections on professional and fan-driven anti-Black slights that impacted the industry experiences of Normani (Fifth Harmony’s sole Black member), Leigh-Anne (Little Mix’s sole Black member) and Melody Thornton (The Pussycat Dolls’ sole Black member).
The initial announcement of Manon’s hiatus came via the KATSEYE fan community on Weverse in a post shared at 6:45 p.m. ET Friday night by HYBE and Geffen.
“After open and thoughtful conversations together, we are sharing that Manon will be taking a temporary hiatus from group activities to focus on her health and wellbeing,” the message reads. “We fully support this decision. KATSEYE remains committed to showing up for one another and for the fans who mean everything to us. The group will continue scheduled activities during this time, and we look forward to being together again when the time is right. Thank you to our EYEKONS for your continued love, patience, and understanding.”
A few hours later, Manon allegedly shared her own statement through Weverse DMs, writing, “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.”
Although the group is currently prepping for its Coachella debut in April, none of the other five KATSEYE members have spoken out about Manon’s temporary hiatus. In a Feb. 17 interview, Manon told The Cut, “Being called lazy, especially as a Black girl, is not fair. Now I feel like I always need to put in extra work to prove something, even though I really don’t.”
Formed through the reality competition series The Debut: Dream Academy in 2023, KATSEYE has quickly scaled the music industry ladder, meaningfully breaking through with its 2025 Beautiful Chaos EP. With that project, the six-piece global girl group earned its first two Billboard Hot 100 hits: “Gnarly” (No. 82) and “Gabriela” (No. 26).
Notably, “Gabriela” also earned the group a Grammy nomination for best pop duo/group performance, which it ultimately lost to Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande’s “Defying Gravity” — earlier this month (Feb. 1). KATSEYE also earned a nod for best new artist, though Olivia Dean ended up taking that trophy home.
In the days following HYBE and Geffen’s shocking announcement, several music stars have publicly supported Manon by following her Instagram in recent days, including RAYE, London On Da Track, Halle Bailey and Normani.
Keep reading for a full round-up of celebrities who have shown support for Manon following her hiatus announcement.
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Leigh-Anne
The Little Mix alum, who coincidentally dropped her debut solo LP (My Ego Told Me To) the same day as Manon’s hiatus announcement (Feb. 20), took to X to share her support for the KATSEYE star.
“We need to protect each other,” she replied to a fan who noted that she, Manon and Normani had all followed each other on Instagram in light of recent events.
In 2021, Leigh-Anne teamed up with director Natasha Guant for Leigh-Anne: Race, Pop & Power, a documentary chronicling her experiences with racism and colorism in the music industry. The doc also featured an appearance by Keisha Buchanan, the sole Black member of Sugababes.
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SZA
Manon hasn’t posted to her Instagram feed in over a week, but that didn’t stop SZA from heading to the comment section of the most recent picture to share some words of support. Alongside two sweet emojis (a hug and a pink heart), the Grammy winner wrote, “Perfect girl” on Sunday (Feb. 22).
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Kehlani
Like SZA, Kehlani also ran to Manon’s most recent IG post to show her some love, proclaiming, “Ball out time” in all-caps on Tuesday (Feb. 24).
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Tiffany Haddish
On Monday (Feb. 23), Grammy-winning comedian Tiffany Haddish added her voice to the choir of Manon support, writing, “Queen tings,” under her most recent Instagram post.
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Chlöe Bailey
Grammy-nominated singer-producer Chloe Bailey, who’s one-half of the sister duo Chloe x Halle, took to her official Discord server, writing, “I’m sad about Manon” on Sunday (Feb. 22).
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Shade of Soulidified
Shade, one of two Black members from rising boy band Soulidified (which was formed through Netflix’s Building the Band), posted a heartfelt video message to his TikTok page, opening up about his own experiences battling racism in the pop music sphere.
“To Manon, if this video reaches her in any way, I get you,” he said. “I feel you, and I understand. I’m with you, and I support you, and I stand with you because these people don’t know how hard it is to be Black in a group where everybody’s not Black. If you don’t understand what I’m saying, your awareness is probably trash because it’s been happening in groups — and it’s just been happening since the beginning of American history.”
