Photo by Bryan Bedder/Getty Images for MTV
Questions of whether or not Manon Meret Bannerman will be returning to KATSEYE is at an all-time high but one thing's seemingly certain: Manon will be "participating" at Coachella, according to a report from The Korea Herald.
According to The Korea Herald, HYBE confirmed Manon's presence at the festival, while denying to comment on the rest of the fan speculation. The FADER has reached out to representatives for HYBE and KATSEYE to validate the claim independently.
Her alleged presence at Coachella only adds a bigger question mark around HYBE and Geffen's plans for the Swedish native. On Thursday, KATSEYE released a trailer for their upcoming single, "Pinky Up," set to drop the day before their Coachella performance, and it seemingly does not include any shots of Manon. Of course, it's possible that the company could be intentionally withholding her scenes in the video, though at the expense of further agitating the group's already concerned fanbase.
Renewed speculation on Manon's kicked off again on Thursday after fans noticed that the she had removed the girl group from her Instagram bio. Later, Manon shared a new statement to fans on WeVerse, her first since the company officially announced her hiatus on February 20: "HxG and I are having positive conversations and I feel supported. I'm happy and I'm healthy. I'll share more soon. Thank you for always being there for me," she wrote.
Manon's "temporary hiatus" from KATSEYE was announced on February 20 by HYBE, just weeks after the group's performance at the 2026 Grammys and a few days after the release of a The Cut cover story in which the group discussed a hypothetical scenario of KATSEYE breaking up.
HYBE's official statement cited the need for Manon to "focus on her health and wellbeing." Since then, speculation around the reason for her hiatus has run rampant with fans hypothesizing racial discrimination, inter-group feuds, and more. Manon was noticed by fans liking social media posts about the mistreatment of Black members in girl groups. No official statements have been made by the group's other members.
At a recent run of shows in South America for Lollapalooza, KATSEYE member Sophia showed support to Manon saying, "Let's give it up for Manon."
