I have followed them from the beginning... I watched dream academy and even voted for the final lineup (for Megan, Ezrela, and Emily.) I loved these girls but I feel like HxG are using their identities as tokenism (both racial and sexual) and every song is just meant to cause controversy. The leaks feel intentional. This reminds me of BLACKPINK and the attention they would receive due to the "lazy" controversy (but often it was clips taken out of context). YG is quick to send out statements for topics they don't want people to talk about but they never did anything about the lazy accusations, even at the expense of their artist's mental health, because it garnered attention and views. I think KATSEYE is taking this avenue but to the most extreme extent.
I feel sorry for the girls. We really don't know whats going on behind the scenes. Although, they do put themselves into bad positions by oversharing with their fans on lives, but it seems thats been kinda mitigated lately. It was refreshing at first but the truth is that kpop groups who keep their full identities hidden during the first few years are more successful. I think that KATSEYE is going to have a massive downfall because of how so many of us originally loyal fans feel.
This kind of leads me into why I don't think I can support or enjoy their content anymore... it causes me stress. When Manon's hiatus was announced I was following the news closely to see if she was okay, or to see if she was coming back. Again, I feel like HxG takes advantage of us fans and our investment in the group. They don't care about our actual feelings or true dedication, they only want us watching to see what happens next. The truth is when you take a step back... what am I even gaining as a fan? Being their fan isn't fun anymore. I am never happy for the girls, happy about the releases, happy about content thats released. It's always "who was excluded?" or "who was oversexualized?" and the music releases are mediocre because we all know these girls are capable of blowing our minds with their talent. Its just not fun. It literally stresses me out. Manon not being at coachella was the last straw.
To me, KATSEYE's entire identity has become ragebait. It tokenizes their identities, stresses out their fans, and attempts to make mediocre as the bottom line so that everyone eats up what little morsels they can get.