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Global girl group KATSEYE is opening up about the darker side of fame, revealing that they've received thousands of death threats since their debut last year.
In an interview with the BBC, the six-member band — Sophia Laforteza, Manon Bannerman, Daniela Avanzini, Lara Raj, Megan Skiendiel, and Yoonchae Jeung — spoke candidly about the emotional toll of online abuse that has even extended to their families.
"No human is supposed to receive that much feedback on something that they've created," said Laforteza. "We're learning to sort of do what we want, work as hard as we can, know that we just did something we love and try to stay off of that and not have that sort of be our validation."
Raj admitted the experience has been overwhelming. "I think as time goes on and on, the stakes just get higher and higher and pressure from 360 all sides becomes more heavy and intense," she said. "If 1,000 people are, like, sending you death threats, it's, like, jarring. Even if it's not gonna happen, and it doesn't mean anything, it's heavy, and it's jarring."
The 20-year-old, who is a U.S. citizen of Tamil Indian heritage, also revealed she has been subjected to racist remarks and was once falsely reported to immigration authorities. To protect her mental health, Raj deleted her account on X , explaining, "I realized I am not the audience for other people's opinions."
Her bandmates shared similar struggles. "Our career has been really short, but I feel like we've gotten a lot of things already said to us, to our families," said Laforteza. "We know that we signed up for being so public. We know it's a part of fame. But it doesn't change the fact that we are human."
Bannerman added that the scrutiny often feels "very terrorizing on the mind," while Raj pointed out the sexist nature of some comments, saying, "People see us as women to rank. They'll grade us based on how pretty we are, our singing skill, dancing skill, and then add it up and give us a percentage. That's so dystopian."
Despite the negativity, KATSEYE's success continues to grow. Their second EP, Beautiful Chaos, reached No. 2 on the U.S. album charts, and the group has earned Grammy nominations for Best New Artist and Best Pop Duo/Group Performance.
