“It’s not our place or anybody else’s place to rush her...”

Manon Bannerman sent KATSEYE fans into a frenzy back in February after announcing she’d be stepping away from the group to "focus on her mental health and wellbeing."

It didn’t take long for fans and celebrities alike to rally around the singer, with stars including SZA, Chloe Bailey, Tiffany Haddish, and former Pussycat Dolls member Melody Thornton publicly showing their support. 

Around the same time, screenshots also began circulating online that appeared to show a message from Manon’s personal Weverse account. 

Manon via Weverse Dms:“Hi friends 🤍.I want you to hear this from me, I'm healthy, I'm okay, and I'm taking care of myself. Thank u for checking in! Sometimes things unfold in ways we don't fully control, but I'm trusting the bigger picture. Thank you for standing by me. I… pic.twitter.com/qtSO8SQq6T

While Manon has been away, KATSEYE have carried on as a five-member group, performing at festivals including Coachella, releasing new music, and appearing on the latest cover of Allure.

As you'd probably expect, Manon's hiatus also cropped up during the new interview, with Sophia stressing that the group is giving her all the time and space she needs.

“Because we did announce that [the hiatus] is about her well-being, it's not our place or anybody else's place to rush her,” Sophia told the outlet. “We want to give her all the time that she needs, all the space that she needs, and so we don't want to make any assumptions, set anything in stone… She really deserves that, and the door is always open.”

“We love her, and the fans love her. The people love her. They love KATSEYE,” Sophia continued. “If I was in their place, I would be asking too, and so we understand. But what we can say is that we wish that you could just keep extending love and support and patience and all those things, because all of us deserve that. Anybody does.”

In the interview, the members still referred to KATSEYE as a six-member group, even as they’ve been promoting as five. Meanwhile, there’s still no mention of the group on Manon’s social media.

BuzzFeed reached out to Manon's representative for comment.

Additional thumbnail credits: Phillip Faraone/Getty Images