With all the KATSEYE drama underway recently, fans have brought up their debut song’s “racist” formations. As Manon is currently on hiatus, fans are suspicious that the higher ups want her out. They blame racism as a key factor, highlighting how even in their debut song, “DEBUT,” Manon was often kept hidden at the back.
If anyone was wondering how long manon is hidden in this 2 min song, it’s exactly one min, the other girls rotate while she’s hidden half the song. They made sure to end with her in the center tho bc they knew a black girl in the center of their first mv would bring attention. https://t.co/JtfQxi4V51 pic.twitter.com/pwEwsWVvGO
— blue 🪼 (@jkmanonz) February 23, 2026
6 member choreographies are doable, manon was a victim of mistreatment and racism. pic.twitter.com/i3Qc9m1MiE https://t.co/H8IdARdbmt
— santana (@42ndeye) February 23, 2026
As the KATSEYE drama spreads to Korean communities, many argue that while unfortunate, the situation doesn’t read like racism. They argue that Manon was given at least two center positions, with her starting the song to begin with.
She naturally comes to the front for her line.
Koreans also perceive the ending as a way to highlight Manon as the center of the group, rather than to “make use of her” as international fans have claimed.
Although Manon does move out of view during the chorus with the 6 girls…
…this is also seen with other members. Lara takes the hidden spot later on…
…multiple times, in fact.
Daniela also takes the covered spot in a later verse.
Koreans who have kept up with the debut documentary have argued that Sophia, Daniela, Megan, and Yoonchae were all known for their dancing skills, while Lara and Manon take other roles. At the debut stage, Manon had to work harder on her dance to catch up, naturally causing the choreographer to put her at the side when it wasn’t her line. To make up for it, they have her starting and ending the song.
Koreans have also argued that as her skills got better, they naturally shuffled her to the front more, and even pushed her hard during later releases such as “Touch,” where she took center stage during the choruses.
The “hidden member” formation also came back with “Touch,” with Manon covering other members.
The formation, while not the best, is arguably common with even-membered groups.
| theqoo
- She’s the center in all the recent songs though. If you’re going to scream unfairness over this, then how do you explain the recent songs? LOL.
- It’s so not true that the “hidden member” choreo is crossing the line LOL f*cking hilarious. If you watch the MV, it’s basically pushing her as the main from the start. If you can’t dance, you’re usually put to the sides or hidden like that if the group is even.
- WYM racism LOL.
- All even-membered groups fall victim to this LOL.
- From a K-Pop fan’s POV, it’s pretty much inevitable as a formation for even groups + if your skills are lacking then? Also this is kinda a good example of a good way to do the hidden member formation. But when they were debuting, she was so pretty that I immediately formed an impression of the group. And later on, I found out that they had a Korean member.
Many other groups have had similar issues. You can read more about it below.
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