A post claiming Quen Blackwell had unfollowed Manon Bannerman on Instagram went up on 19 October and is still going round. Beneath it now sits a reader-added note saying the two have never followed each other at all.
The claim landed the day after the Victoria's Secret Fashion Show in Los Angeles, and tied the supposed unfollow to the reaction that performance had drawn. Blackwell, 25, walked the PINK Halftime Show, her second year on that runway.
KATSEYE performed 'Animal' and 'Pinky Up' during the show alongside Megan Thee Stallion, Tate McRae and Megan Moroney, with models walking around them. The criticism that followed was about the staging and the synchronisation. 'All those 14 hours of rehearsals, and they still can't walk in sync,' one viewer wrote. Another complained of 'no glue holding them together, no cohesion, zero chemistry'.
What the Post Actually Claimed
The post said Blackwell had unfollowed Manon after Manon's fans criticised the group's performance of 'Animal', and added that the two had previously been linked. None of that has been substantiated, and the note says so in plain terms: 'Quen Blackwell and KATSEYE's Manon have not followed each other on Instagram. No evidence supports a recent unfollow by Quen after fan criticism.'
A screenshot of what appears to be an Instagram message exchange has since circulated, in which somebody asks Blackwell to confirm the rumour is false and receives the reply 'We never followed each other'. That screenshot was supplied by one account and reposted by another. Neither Blackwell nor Manon has said anything publicly, and there is no way to verify private correspondence passed along at second hand.
quen blackwell clarifies she never followed manon on instagram. pic.twitter.com/TP9Rnz7ZFi
— maevie (@manongraphy) October 26, 2026
The note is not a statement from either woman. It disputes the claim, but it does not settle what the two accounts did or did not do in the past.
Manon Has Been Away Since February
KATSEYE announced on 20 February that Manon would take a temporary hiatus from the group to focus on her health and wellbeing. Hybe confirmed she would not join the group's Coachella set in April, though she attended the festival. That month she also said she and the label were having positive conversations and that she felt supported, and removed the group's name from her Instagram bio, which set off a second round of speculation.
There has been no departure announcement from either the group or the label. One trade report this summer referred to her exit in passing, which is where the 'former member' framing now attached to her name appears to come from. It is not something anyone involved has confirmed. Manon is 24, and has been reported as the first Black artist signed to Hybe.
Why the Rumour Travelled
The claim gained traction because it combined two separate facts. Blackwell did walk the show, and KATSEYE's performance was criticised. What was never substantiated was any connection between the two events.
That is what makes unfollow claims difficult to disprove. A public account's current following list is visible to anyone, allowing users to note that the two do not currently follow each other. What those lists cannot show is who the same account followed previously. A claim that somebody has stopped following someone sits in that gap, where the available evidence can neither confirm nor conclusively refute it.
Blackwell has spent 2026 fronting campaigns for Hennessy, Balenciaga and Nike, and hosted the Vanity Fair Oscar party in March. None of it has been interrupted by a rumour that remains unsubstantiated.
