{"id":102940,"date":"2025-11-12T03:57:00","date_gmt":"2025-11-12T03:57:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sotnews.agency\/?p=102940"},"modified":"2025-11-12T03:57:00","modified_gmt":"2025-11-12T03:57:00","slug":"global-girl-group-katseye-have-received-thousands-of-death-threats","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sotnews.agency\/?p=102940","title":{"rendered":"Global girl group Katseye have received \u2018thousands\u2019 of death threats"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n
\n \t<\/i> Read Time:<\/span>5 Minute, 25 Second <\/div>\n\n <\/div>
\n

The girl group Katseye say they have received multiple online death threats since they made their debut last year.<\/p>\n

The six-piece, who were recently nominated for best new artist at the Grammy Awards, told BBC News that the messages, which have also targeted their families, \u201ccan get really heavy\u201d.<\/p>\n

\u201cI try to tell myself it doesn\u2019t matter, but if 1,000 people are sending you death threats, it\u2019s jarring,\u201d said singer Lara Raj. \u201cEven if it\u2019s not going to happen, it\u2019s heavy.\u201d<\/p>\n

Raj, who is a US citizen with Tamil Indian heritage, has also been subjected to racist comments, and was falsely reported to ICE for \u201cworking and residing in the United States without legal authorisation\u201d.<\/p>\n

The 20-year-old said she had \u201cdeleted Twitter\u201d (now known as X), to avoid seeing negative comments.<\/p>\n

\u201cI realised I am not the audience for other people\u2019s opinions,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

Katseye did not specify the nature of the threats they have received; but aggressive and inappropriate behaviour is\u00a0depressingly common amongst fan communities.<\/p>\n

Last year,\u00a0Chappell Roan criticised\u00a0the \u201cmany nonconsensual physical and social interactions\u201d she had had with fans, including people harassing her family and friends.<\/p>\n

The pop band Muna chastised some of their supporters for \u201cspreading falsehoods about us and our loved ones for clout and attention\u201d; while Doja Cat called out \u201ccreepy\u201d behaviour from a section of her fanbase.<\/p>\n

\u201cOur career has been really short, but I feel like we\u2019ve gotten a lot of things already said to us, to our families,\u201d said Katseye singer Sophia Laforteza.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe know that we signed up for being so public. We know it\u2019s a part of fame. But it doesn\u2019t change the fact that we are human.\u201d<\/p>\n

Raj also pointed out the sexist nature of the comments the band have received.<\/p>\n

\u201cPeople see us as women to rank. They\u2019ll grade us based on how pretty we are, our singing skill, dancing skill, and then add it up and give us a percentage.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat\u2019s so dystopian.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI feel like it\u2019s very terrifying on the mind,\u201d added her bandmate Manon Bannerman.<\/p>\n

The band, who were formed in 2023, were trained in the K-pop system but takes a more Western approach to their music<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Despite the online negativity, Katseye are having a remarkable year.<\/p>\n

Their second EP, Beautiful Chaos, peaked at number two in the US album charts, thanks to the gratingly brilliant lead single, Gnarly, and the Charli XCX-penned follow-up, Gabriella.<\/p>\n

An advert they filmed for the clothing brand Gap went viral in August, racking up 400 million plays and 8 billion social media \u201cimpressions\u201d (\u201cIsn\u2019t there only 7 billion people in the world?\u201d asked singer Megan Skiendiel when presented with the statistic).<\/p>\n

Last month, they won best performance at the MTV Awards. Five days ago, they became only the third girl group in history to receive a best new artist nomination at the Grammys, following SWV and Wilson Phillips.<\/p>\n

The six members, who range in age between 17 and 22, are truly international.<\/p>\n

Daniela Avanzini is a Venezuelan-Cuban American from Atlanta. Raj is an Indian-Sri Lankan American from New York. Bannerman is a Ghanaian-Italian from Zurich. Megan Skiendiel is a Chinese-Singaporean American from Honolulu. Laforteza is from Manila in the Philippines. And Yoonchae Jeung was born and raised in South Korea.<\/p>\n

The band spoke to BBC News in the middle of a whistle-stop European tour, just two weeks before launching their first, sold-out, tour of the US<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

They were hand-picked to form Katseye on The Debut: Dream Academy, a reality show created by Korean entertainment giant Hybe \u2013 the label behind BTS and Le Sserafim \u2013 and America\u2019s Geffen Records, home to Olivia Rodrigo and Guns N\u2019 Roses.<\/p>\n

Thousands applied, but only 20 made it through to the training and development stage \u2013 a gruelling, two-year bootcamp of daily dance lessons, vocal practice and brutal feedback.<\/p>\n

Rehearsing one dance routine, they were scolded for their lack of synchronisation: \u201cIt\u2019s got to sound like one person walking down the stairs. It can\u2019t sound like a group of people falling down the stairs.\u201d<\/p>\n

Those days are long behind them. The sextet learned the intricate, aerobic choreography for their Gap advert in just one day.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe longer we\u2019re together as a group, the shorter it takes,\u201d said Skiendiel.<\/p>\n

\u201cOne day of rehearsals and we\u2019re really in sync. Then we nitpick the rest.\u201d<\/p>\n

The band\u2019s Gap advert was seen more times in three days than the brand\u2019s four prior releases combined<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Last year\u2019s SIS (Soft Is Strong) EP established the band with a confident, slick pop sound. But it was Gnarly that really put them on the map.<\/p>\n

Released in April, the song is two minutes and seventeen seconds of aggressively chaotic beat drops, juddering synths and gang vocals.<\/p>\n

It instantly divided opinion: \u201cGenuinely atrocious\u201d was one of the kinder comments. \u201cBut people kept coming back for more. At the time of writing, it\u2019s been streamed more than half a billion times. No less than The New York Times called it\u00a0\u201cthe future of K-pop\u201d.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen we first heard it, we knew it was going to be shocking,\u201d said Avanzini.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat was so exciting, the idea of making people upset,\u201d agreed Raj. \u201cNot giving them something that\u2019s just okay \u2013 we were really giving something thrilling.\u201d<\/p>\n

It may have been polarising \u2013 but Gnarly turned Katseye from a pop curiosity to a burgeoning cultural phenomenon.<\/p>\n

One early fan was Melanie C, who hosted a showcase for the band in London last month.<\/p>\n

Speaking on stage, she said Katseye reminded her of the Spice Girls.<\/p>\n

\u201cSomething about the Spice Girls was so many people felt they could identify with one of us,\u201d she said. \u201cAnd I think that\u2019s so beautiful about [the diversity of] your band: You open that door even further for so many people.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWe pride ourselves so much that our group is so diverse,\u201d Bannerman told the BBC.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s our number one priority to show the girlies out there to be proud of where they come from, no matter what they look like.\u201d<\/p>\n

And, despite the online pushback she\u2019s received, Raj encourages musicians from diverse backgrounds to pursue their dreams.<\/p>\n

\u201cPlease do it,\u201d she told the BBC. \u201cYou cannot feel held back.<\/p>\n

\u201cOur skin colour, our culture is our power. Use it and own it.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n
\n \n
\n \n \"Happy\"\n <\/a>\n
\n Happy <\/div>\n
\n 0<\/span>\n \n 0<\/span> %<\/span>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n\n
\n \n \"Sad\"\n <\/a>\n
\n Sad <\/div>\n
\n 0<\/span>\n 0<\/span> %<\/span>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n\n
\n \n \"Excited\"\n <\/a>\n
\n Excited <\/div>\n
\n 0<\/span>\n 0<\/span> %<\/span>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n\n
\n \n \"Sleepy\"\n <\/a>\n
\n Sleepy <\/div>\n
\n 0<\/span>\n \n 0<\/span> %<\/span>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n\n
\n \n \"Angry\"\n <\/a>\n
Angry<\/div>\n
\n 0<\/span>\n 0<\/span> %<\/span>\n \n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n\n
\n \n \"Surprise\"\n <\/a>\n
Surprise<\/div>\n
\n 0<\/span>\n 0<\/span> %<\/span>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n\n ","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
\"GlobalThe girl group Katseye say they have received multiple online death threats since they made their debut last year.<\/div>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"rop_custom_images_group":[],"rop_custom_messages_group":[],"rop_publish_now":"initial","rop_publish_now_accounts":{"facebook_2277560469115098_106292521332774":"","twitter_aToxNzczMzI3Njk4OTg4ODUxMjAxOw==_1773327698988851200":""},"rop_publish_now_history":[],"rop_publish_now_status":"pending","_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[3002,1910,12355,1377,10,9],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-102940","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-death-threats","category-international","category-katseye","category-music","category-politics","category-popular"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sotnews.agency\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/102940","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sotnews.agency\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sotnews.agency\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sotnews.agency\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sotnews.agency\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=102940"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/sotnews.agency\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/102940\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sotnews.agency\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=102940"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sotnews.agency\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=102940"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sotnews.agency\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=102940"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}