Fans are unsure what to believe.
A major publication has supposedly confirmed Manon‘s departure from KATSEYE.
On August 4, VARIETY released its “Young Hollywood Impact Report 2026,” naming the most influential young artists in entertainment ages 18 to 28 this year. The list featured multiple HYBE artists, including CORTIS, LE SSERAFIM‘s Yunjin, and KATSEYE.
The section talking about KATSEYE’s achievements featured only the five active members’ pictures.
The description itself started off with what looked like a firm confirmation of Manon’s departure, cementing the implications.
Despite the departure of member Manon Bannerman in February, Katseye has soldiered on as one of the premier girl groups in contemporary pop music.
— Variety
However, some fans remain skeptical of the publication’s word. Some pointed out that, in the same article, VARIETY falsely implied that Manon was not part of KATSEYE when the group was nominated for the Grammy Awards, raising questions about the validity of their report.
Why is Variety writing this as if the Grammy nomination and performance had nothing to do with Manon? We’re tired of seeing them try to erase her. https://t.co/G1CZ1hBcWO pic.twitter.com/FjcTnnTRgM
— Ami 🪐 (@manonvisual) August 4, 2026
VARIETY released an article mentioning that MANON has departed the group.
However they chose to make it obvious they are on Hybe X Geffen payroll by excluding Manon when mentioning the group’s Grammy’s performance,which she was actually apart of. pic.twitter.com/IXrkuucefa
— Manon PopBase (@manon_archive) August 4, 2026
referring to them as a group of five ‘quintet’ during their Grammy nomination/ performance era as if manon wasn’t also a part of it.. everyone can go to hell https://t.co/pLrT2YpvKT
— tee⋆𐙚˚⊹♡ (@katzmanzanita) August 4, 2026
Meanwhile, the KATSEYE members also directly addressed Manon’s status during a recent fan interaction.