Is KATSEYE Disbanding? Manon Defends Work Ethic Against 'Just Pretty' Claims

KATSEYE disbanding rumours flared online this week after Manon announced a temporary hiatus from the group for 'health reasons,' in a statement shared over the weekend. After less than three years as a band, KATSEYE has lost one of its key members, at least for the time being.

The timing matters because pop groups do not get to pause quietly any more. A hiatus announcement is instantly treated as a referendum on friendships, contracts and whether the whole project is about to collapse. What is newly known is the group's formal message that Manon is stepping back and that the remaining members will carry on with scheduled activities, while what remains stubbornly unknown is how long 'temporary' actually means and what, precisely, Manon needs space from.

The essentials are simple, even if the online noise is not. KATSEYE says it is continuing its schedule, and it says it supports Manon's decision. The rest is interpretation, and in KATSEYE's case interpretation has a habit of turning into factional warfare.

KATSEYE Disbanding Talk After a 'Temporary Hiatus'

In the statement quoted by The Tab, the group said, '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.' It continued, '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.'

Still, the statement's tone does not stop people reading between the lines. The Tab framed the situation bluntly, suggesting that Manon 'leaving' is not surprising for those who have followed the group's friendship drama since Dream Academy. That is a loaded claim, but it is difficult to ignore how often young pop acts are expected to sell a sense of sisterhood as part of the product, then punished when the seams begin to show.

KATSEYE Disbanding Rumours and the Adéla Clip

The Tab links the current anxiety to older tension from Dream Academy, pointing to what it calls a 'divide' in who the members choose to remain friends with. It singles out Adéla, described as a Slovakian pop singer who now has a 'huge solo career' and is 'co-signed' by Addison Rae and Troye Sivan.

Back in the Dream Academy days, Manon and Adéla did not see eye to eye, and it cites a now viral clip in which Adéla criticised Manon's work ethic. 'Manon, she's getting so much attention. You know, people are upset because she doesn't put a lot of effort, and she doesn't show up for her team a lot,' Adéla said in the clip, according to the outlet. Adéla went on, 'So people are upset that she is the person who is getting so much attention. It's not based on anything right now, it's just because she's pretty, and that's true, she is pretty.'

The outlet adds that Manon and Adéla now seem 'amicable' in the limited, modern sense of following each other on Instagram while not interacting publicly. Meanwhile, it says KATSEYE members Lara Raj and Megan Skiendiel have 'continuously supported' Adéla, posting pictures with her and attending her concerts. None of that proves a feud, but it does give fans a ready made storyline, and storylines are what the internet consumes when it cannot get facts.

KATSEYE Disbanding Fears Meet a Culture Clash

In an interview with The Cut, Manon addressed how the 'shady comments' made her feel and framed the criticism through a cultural lens. 'America has a very different culture when it comes to work-life balance. You guys are all about grind and hustle. In Switzerland, if you're sick, you take a day off. No one's going to expect you to work,' she said.

That is a defence, but it is also a quiet rebuke. It suggests the conflict was never solely about rehearsals or personality, but about competing moral codes for what a good teammate should look like. For those who believe the grind is the point, rest can read as disrespect, and a 'temporary hiatus' can become, in the public imagination, a betrayal rather than a medical boundary.

Originally published on IBTimes UK