A recent interview featuring HYBE’s global girl group KATSEYE on BBC Radio 1 has been taken down after viewers accused host Greg James of making a “racist” comment.
The incident occurred during the group’s recent promotional tour in the UK, where they appeared on several local programs to introduce themselves to British audiences.
During the segment, Greg James referred to a scene from The Debut: Dream Academy documentary, where contestants trained to become part of KATSEYE.
The host mistakenly asked Manon about an injury that actually happened to another contestant, Samara, who had suffered a serious knee injury during the show. Fans quickly noticed the mix-up, with many pointing out that fellow member Lara appeared confused while Manon was trying to respond politely.
Many criticized the mistake as more than just an innocent mix-up. Some accused the host of failing to research properly and making assumptions based on race, highlighting that Manon and Samara only share similar skin tones but otherwise look nothing alike. Others were also frustrated that Manon’s name was also reportedly mispronounced during the exchange.
mixing manon and samara up…. mispronouncing her name….. pic.twitter.com/eySfKroSPm
— andi (@manonicent) November 4, 2025
didn’t even attempt to pronounce her name correctly and asked her about an injury one of the only other black contestants had as if it was her and manon still tried to answer professionally 😕 pic.twitter.com/7ko9Kx813i
— serena (@heartsmanon) November 4, 2025
One you mispronounced her name and then also there were 3 black women on Dream Academy and none of them look alike so my question is did you watch Dream Academy or was it blatant ignorance because Samara and Manon look nothing alike
— ☁️ (@yoon_chaes) November 4, 2025
this is racist. mind you Samara and Manon have nothing similar except their skin color…tf is wrong with uk interviewers ?? 1st telling them how majority of Brits think that their ad is not iconic now that… https://t.co/lhU33NKjtj
— Erentheprettiestjaeger (@Doodaaas3) November 4, 2025
The backlash spread quickly across social media, prompting widespread criticism of the BBC segment.
– mispronouncing manon’s name in every interview
– telling them how majority of brits dont think their ad is iconic
– giving them flavorless food
– mixing up manon with samara????????uk interviewers do better. https://t.co/i9Q75Alyvn
— ella ⋆˚࿔ (@lvrmarz) November 4, 2025
Following the uproar, the interview was quietly removed from both YouTube and BBC Radio 1’s official channels, fueling speculation that it was deleted in response to the controversy.
hoping they address it instead just deleting the whole interview and hoping ppl forget about it when they inevitably repost it with THAT part removed.. pic.twitter.com/sPAjcIzezO
— tee⋆𐙚˚⊹♡ (@katzmanzanita) November 4, 2025
As of now, neither Greg James nor BBC Radio 1 has released an official statement addressing the issue.
