KATSEYE Supposedly Exposes Deliberate Exclusion Of Manon From Latest Comeback
KATSEYE’s recent comeback, “Pinky Up,” had caused quite the controversy at the time of its release because it fully excluded Manon, who is currently on hiatus. Though many argued that members sitting out new releases while on hiatus is a routine practice in K-Pop, a lot of fans felt that the exclusion was intentional.
This theory was based on two facts: that Manon had posted updates from a recording studio in January, which implied she was recording new music with the group, and that she was seen in the leaked dance practice footage of “Pinky Up.”
#KATSEYE pinky up choreography leak pic.twitter.com/oijPFuCFZh
— momo ᥫ᭡ (@momosmars) April 4, 2026
However, fans believe that KATSEYE’s latest content has given more concrete evidence that Manon was “erased” from this comeback. Recently, the group’s YouTube channel dropped a behind-the-scenes video of the making of “Pinky Up,” where one clip showed that the music video was being filmed on February 22, just two days after Manon’s hiatus was suddenly announced.
Not them filming the mv 2 days after the hiatus was announced 😭 pic.twitter.com/gs4zFTWEhw
— kujxbi misses Manon (@demureyekon) April 16, 2026
Many found this timing odd, leading to suspicions that the music video was either re-shot to exclude Manon or her hiatus was planned way before. Some also pointed out that she had teased the release of “Pinky Up” along with the other members during their appearance on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon, which meant that she was originally included in the comeback plan.
how did yall remove her 2 days before filming, was this premeditated?? y’all really made them redo all this in 48 HOURS??? https://t.co/K8b0D1fNhQ
— rj (@riosgnarly) April 16, 2026
wait wait wait wait… if they filmed the mv 2 days after manons hiatus annoucement, doesn’t this mean that when they filmed the mv, they was filming it to the original ot6 version of Pinky Up 😭
— tae⁺¹ ! 👾 (@omarisvoidd) April 16, 2026
it’s giving she found everything out the same way we did.. that’s so fucked bro https://t.co/yGqN5X9vmq
— ¨̮ nucki ミ☆ (@needyarmani) April 16, 2026
it takes more than two days to plan a music video and re-record a song so it’s likely everyone knew that manon would be going on hiatus and cut out of the mv before she knew herself this “hiatus” was a calculated stunt to push manon out of the group https://t.co/oP3sezhNe6
— abbie 𝚿 (@witchestars) April 16, 2026
There’s no way they “rehearsed” the dance formation with ot5 in 2 days, with every new information coming out it gets more sinister. https://t.co/16lQ8GRUCH
— Zee🫧💜 (@manzietay2) April 16, 2026
I don't think it was a re-recording, but the plan on the part of the company was always to record without her from before , otherwise the version with manon would have already been leaked https://t.co/KfP8ZCibcn
— M.I.A ☆|| meiyok swift abrams gf|| ☆ (@meiyokstar) April 17, 2026
With HYBE X Geffen’s continued silence on the many contradictions surrounding Manon’s hiatus, fans are getting more and more impatient with KATSEYE’s releases, including the recently announced EP.
KATSEYE Announces Five-Member Comeback, Manon Breaks Silence
