Katseye's Lara Raj speaks out on hate and defends ‘Gnarly’ in new interview

19 August 2026, 12:32 | Updated: 1 September 2026, 15:24

Katseye’s Lara Raj got candid in a recent interview about dealing with online hate following the release of their viral hit 'Gnarly'.

Katseye’s Lara Raj has spoken out about the recent hate the global girl group have faced since the release of their new music, while also defending their pop hit ‘Gnarly’.

From just dropping their third EP Wild, to both Manon Bannerman and Sophia Laforteza being on a temporary hiatus from the band, the group have been under the spotlight recently, which isn't always easy.

While their music evolves and they continue to dominate the charts, some people have criticised the direction their new music is heading in.

• Read more: Is Megan from Katseye on hiatus? Here's why she's missing from Wild promo

KATSEYE (캣츠아이) "Gnarly" Official MV

During a group interview with Nicky Reardon, Lara opened up about the hate that Katseye have experienced following the release of their new music. She said: "We made a decision where we were like, we do not want to do things that are just like, 'It's cool'.

"Yeah, 'It's whatever', 'That was good', and then you forget about it. Like, we want it to like stick in people's heads."

Reflecting on the backlash they received for their 2025 song 'Gnarly', Lara continued: "And I think that the controversy of Gnarly prepared us to do that for the rest of our career.

"When people give us hate now, it's like, whatever. Really, like, I think it really taught us that Things can switch up like that. And people's opinions cannot affect our own opinion of anything."

This isn't the first time the girls have spoken out about the hate they receive online, during an interview with Jake Shane on 'Therapuss', Sophie clapped back at the backlash.

She said: "We're just girls doing our best to empower and to impact the world, and fulfil our dream. We just wanna sing and dance."

"And then y'all are like, 'Oh my god, Katseye's done!'. 'Like, I'm so mad at the face she just made'. Like sorry, just close your eyes."

Read more music news here:

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