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Catsy Eye’s Manon Bannerman will not be attending the group’s Coachella performance on Friday night. The group’s entertainment company HYBE confirmed the news on Thursday. HYBE and Bannerman announced their suspension of group activities in February. Bannerman told fans earlier this month that she was in “positive discussions” with the company about her future.
Katsy is scheduled to perform at Coachella on Friday night as just the quintet. On Thursday, their entertainment company HYBE told The Korea Herald that the sixth member, Manon Bannerman, will not be participating in the performance. “Manon continues to be on hiatus,” HYBE said.
HYBE and Bannerman announced their suspension of group activities in February. HYBE said in a statement: “After open and thoughtful discussions, we share that Manon will be taking a temporary hiatus from group activities to focus on her health and well-being. We fully support this decision. Katzeai will continue to do everything for each other and for us. We will continue to work hard for our fans who love us so much.The group will continue our scheduled activities during this period, and we look forward to being together again at the appropriate time.We would like to thank Eyekons for their continued love, patience, and understanding.”
Bannerman later shared his own message on Weverse, telling fans, “Hello friends. I want you to hear this from me. I’m healthy, okay, and taking care of myself. Thank you for checking in! Sometimes things unfold in ways that are completely out of our control, but I believe in the big picture. Thank you for supporting me. I love you endlessly, and I can’t wait to see you again.”
It is unclear whether Bannerman will ultimately return to Katzeai. After gaining attention for removing “Katseye” from her Instagram profile, she gave fans an update on her conversation with HYBE on April 3.
“I really appreciate all the love and support you’ve sent me,” Bannerman wrote on Weverse. “I really appreciate the patience and kindness everyone has shown me during this time. HxG and I have had positive conversations and I feel supported. I am happy and healthy. I will share more details soon. Thank you for always being there for me.”
Prior to the group’s performance, Nylon announced the group’s new cover story on April 7th. Bannerman participated in interviews and filming prior to the announced hiatus.
She joined Katseye to discuss what she learned about online comments. “What we’ve learned about what it takes to be an artist is to not pay too much attention to what’s going on online,” she said. “I think once you’re famous, you suddenly have a lot of opinions about you. Everyone judges and everyone has something to say. Just keep building walls between all of that.”
Meanwhile, Lala spoke about their hopes for their Coachella performance: “I think Coachella is going to be a huge, iconic moment for us,” she said. “We’re all obviously inspired by Beychella and Blackpink’s Coachella and how much effort they put into their Coachella performance. We want it to be pretty epic and this big important moment for us.”
