Feb 23, 2026 1:18pm IST
KATSEYE Member Daniela Avanzini’s Father Invites Ire Of Lalisa’s Fans After His Viral Asians Vs Latinas Comment
KATSEYE, the global girl group from HYBE and GEFFEN Records has been in the news after it was announced that Manon Bannerman has gone on a temporary hiatus. The official notice stated that she wished to focus on her health and well-being and the decision was taken after a long discussion with all parties involved. Manon Bannerman later posted that she is doing fine physically and fans need not worry about her health. She also said that some decisions are beyond her control and she hopes that things will sort out eventually. Later on, fans noticed how she liked a comment on how black artistes faced mistreatment when they were part of music groups.
Related Stories
However, what added extra drama was when KATSEYE fans saw how Rafael Avanzini, the father of Daniela Avanzini replied to a comment that KATSEYE would survive even as a five-member group. He also stated that the girl group needed members who could grind. People began to wonder why was he getting involved in the entire matter. Now, things have taken a different turn as people noticed Rafael Avanzini's comments under a fan poll that compared Lisa of BLACKPINK and Daniela as dancers. His comment reads that he would pick his daughter as she has more training. Rafael Avanzini also stated that his daughter was Latin American and hence had a natural sense of rhythm.
This has upset fans of BLACKPINK and Lalisa. As we know, Lisa is from Thai and known the world over for her dancing skills. She trained as a hip-hop dancer unlike Daniela Avanzini whose specialization is Latin American dance. They felt there was no need to mention the ethnicity of Lisa in this conversation. KATSEYE has good Asian representation with members like Lara Raj (India), Yoonchae (South Korea), Sophia Laforteza (Philippines) and Megan Skiendiel (Chinese-Singapore-American).
BLACKPINK member Lisa is one of the most recognized faces from the K-Pop industry. She is a part of Netflix's TYGO that also stars Ma Dong-seok and Lee Jin-uk. She is also collaborating for a project with a producer from The White Lotus.
Comments are moderated. They may be edited for clarity and reprinting in whole or in part in Variety publications.