\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div> \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tSacha Lecca\/Rolling Stone<\/cite><\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n \n\tThis past weekend, HYBE and Geffen Records announced that Bannerman would be temporarily stepping away<\/a> from Katseye \u201cto focus on her health and wellbeing,\u201d according to a statement published on Weverse. In a separate message to fans, the 23-year-old elaborated on the situation, writing, \u201cI\u2019m healthy, I\u2019m okay, and I\u2019m taking care of myself \u2026 Sometimes things unfold in ways we don\u2019t fully control, but I\u2019m trusting the bigger picture.\u201d While fans have read between the lines and filled the space with speculation about whether this was an amicable decision, an emotional support group of women has formed around Bannerman.\u00a0<\/p>\n \n\t\u201cWe see you,\u201d the Pussycat Dolls\u2019 Melody Thornton wrote on Instagram, where she shared an image of Bannerman, who liked the post. During Thornton\u2019s hardest times in her own girl group, no one said the same to her. \u201cThe one thing that I always kept in mind was, \u2018You can\u2019t be messing up. You got to keep it together because you are the Black girl. People know that, people see it, and they want to see you win so you must prevail through any adversity \u2013 whatever it looks like,\u2019\u201d she told Essence<\/em><\/a> in 2024. \u201cI didn\u2019t always know if I was being seen.\u201d At one point, she began to experience panic attacks and developed insecurities around being branded as the \u201cweakest link\u201d in the PCD. Still, she didn\u2019t disclose her struggles to anyone, she said, \u201cbecause I didn\u2019t want anyone to say that I was lazy or that I was making things up.\u201d<\/p>\n \t\tEditor\u2019s picks<\/p>\n<\/h2>\n<\/section>\n \n\tThe statement is almost exactly what Bannerman told the Cut<\/em><\/a> <\/em>just a few weeks ago. \u201cBeing called lazy, especially as a Black girl, is not fair,\u201d she said, commenting on the criticism that has followed her since Dream Academy<\/em>, where she missed rehearsals due to illness. \u201cNow I feel like I always need to put in extra work to prove something, even though I really don\u2019t.\u201d Bannerman only missed one date of their debut headlining tour, which wrapped in December. Over the next month, Katseye are booked to perform at three iterations of Lollapalooza ahead of their Coachella debut in April. Even if Bannerman\u2019s leave from the group is only temporary, the optics surrounding her absence could leave a lingering mark.\u00a0<\/p>\n \n\t\u201cGroups are made and every member is chosen because they have something special to bring and because all of the members together make a balance, so I think it is going to be interesting navigating without her for the time being,\u201d Makhyli Simpson, a member of the short-lived girl group Boys World<\/a>, said in a recent TikTok live<\/a>. \u201cI just hope that she is well in whatever that she decides moving forward. I know about all of the pressure that it is, especially to be the only Black girl in a group, and I just feel like nobody knows what that\u2019s like until you\u2019re in her shoes.\u201d Boys World disbanded in 2024, five years after KYN Entertainment scouted all five members on social media. \u201cWe have accepted that there are some things that are out of our control,\u201d the group said at the time. It mirrors the statement Bannerman shared.<\/p>\n \t\tRelated Content<\/p>\n<\/h2>\n<\/section>\n \t\t\t\t\t\t \n\tAt the end of the day, any group assembled and supported by an entertainment company gets treated much like the products they\u2019re meant to sell. Katseye haven\u2019t even released their debut album yet, but they\u2019ve already been effectively positioned as walking billboards for everything from Fendi, Pandora, GAP, Glossier, and Laneige to Erewhon, State Farm, Takis, and the fast-food chain Jollibee. They\u2019re not selling records. They\u2019re selling an image \u2014 one that doesn\u2019t hold without Bannerman. \u201cPeople want to see diversity,\u201d she told the Associated Press <\/em><\/a>last year. \u201cPeople want to see themselves represented on the TV, on billboards. And I really hope that people high up see that and see that it works, and implement that.\u201d Although the music industry may see them as pawns and products, these women \u2014 presented with this responsibility as teenagers and young adults on Dream Academy <\/em>\u2014 are still people.\u00a0<\/p>\n \n\tGirl groups are built on an idealized perception of unity and sisterhood that isn\u2019t always intersectional. The people high up have never quite known what to do with Black women in these environments. As a teenager, Normani joined Fifth Harmony<\/a> alongside four other girls who also auditioned as soloists on The X Factor<\/em>. They finished in third place, then were promptly launched as pop\u2019s next big thing. Normani always exuded the same natural star quality that drew Dream Academy<\/em> producers to Bannerman. Her presence alone pulled attention. She was sidelined, regardless. \u201cI didn\u2019t get to really sing in the group. I felt like I was overlooked,\u201d Normani told Allure<\/em><\/a> <\/em>in 2021. \u201cThat idea has been projected on me. Like, this is your place.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n \n\tNormani also grappled with vitriolic racism from Fifth Harmony fans, and even had to confront racist experiences within the group: In 2019, racist posts that group member Camila Cabello wrote as a teenager resurfaced. \u201cIt was devastating that this came from a place that was supposed to be a safe haven and a sisterhood, because I knew that if the tables were turned I would defend each of them in a single heartbeat,\u201d she told Rolling Stone<\/em><\/a> <\/em>in 2020. Ultimately, she said, \u201cthey didn\u2019t know how to be there for me the way that I needed it because it wasn\u2019t their own experience, and because when they look at me they don\u2019t see me.\u201d In the midst of the speculation surrounding the future of Katseye, Normani followed Bannerman on Instagram.<\/p>\n \n\tIt\u2019s a small act that might have led to an extended conversation behind the scenes, but the significance of visibility shouldn\u2019t be understated. Normani and Leigh-Anne Pinnock, whose own television competition path led her to Little Mix<\/a>, exchanged the same message in 2020. \u201cI am you and you are me, I see you sis,\u201d Normani commented on a video<\/a> that detailed Pinnock\u2019s experience with racism in the music industry. \u201cI learned that the dream of being in the biggest girl band in the world came with its flaws and consequences \u2014 consequences such as knowing about the existent underlying racism in the creative industries,\u201d she said at the time. Responding to a post about following Bannerman on Instagram, Pinnock wrote, \u201cWe need to protect each other.\u201d<\/p>\n \n\tPinnock, like all of the other women mentioned here, learned to live with \u201cconstantly feeling like I have to work 10 times harder and longer to mark my place in the group because my talent alone isn\u2019t enough.\u201d None of them should have to. The idea that Black women should simply power through, or endure mistreatment under the guise of proving themselves, is systemic. It\u2019s a perpetual test designed for them to fail. It\u2019s expected that they not only overextend themselves to prove their place, but also that they should feel lucky to be there \u2014 and be considered \u2014 at all. But it\u2019s never a privilege to suffer and struggle.\u00a0<\/p>\n \n\tBannerman expressed as much when she pointed out that she grew up with a well-rounded understanding of a work-life balance in Switzerland, something Americans have often rejected in favor of a relentless grind mentality. It\u2019s that intensity that defined Berry Gordy\u2019s Motown, which directly influenced the modern K-Pop trainee model. In 2024, JYP Entertainment founder Park Jin-young credited<\/a> the hit-making label with inspiring the system. This all, in turn, led to the creation of Katseye. HYBE and Geffen touted their partnership as the first time a U.S. record label has partnered with a K-Pop company to develop a new group. It turns out they might not actually be better together.<\/p>\n \n\tIn November, the companies launched the sale of a merch package that featured a quiz page personalized to each Katseye member. For Bannerman, one question read, \u201cWhat does Manon think is her best feature?\u201d The options were: \u201cHer sense of humor, her selfishness, her laziness, or her quiet nature.\u201d Even the framing of the question \u2014 what does she <\/em>think about herself \u2014 encourages speculation that doesn\u2019t reflect reality, but distorts her narrative.<\/p>\n\n
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