KATSEYE member Lara Raj officially came out as queer, telling fans during a chat session that she's “half fruitcake.”
TMZ reports that Raj, a member of the girl group that's catapulted to fame, told fans that she's known she's queer since she was a kid. “I knew I was half a fruitcake when I was like 8, so I really was wanting everybody," she said, according to PinkNews, while talking with fans on the South Korean fandom platform Weverse. "Honestly probably before 8. Isn’t half a fruitcake such a good way to explain it without saying it?”
Raj was chosen as a member of KATSEYE during the competition series The Debut: Dream Academy, joining Daniela Avanzini, Manon Bannerman, Megan Skiendiel, Sophia Laforteza, and Yoonchae Jeong. The group put out their first song last year, and gave their first-ever group interview to Teen Vogue to discuss the track.
During her time on the competition series, Raj said she was concerned her sexuality would hurt her chances at getting chosen for the group. “You know in Dream Academy when it came out I was really really scared tbh," she wrote. "I didn’t know if people would accept me and I really thought it would ruin my chances of getting in.” But Raj then thanked her fans for their warm reception to her news. “And then you all were so so nice about it and gave me so much love and support and it made me feel so confident in who I am, so I love you for that.”
That kind of support is key to the group's mission. Just after their song "Debut" was released in 2024, Raj told Teen Vogue that it was about confidence, sisterhood, and being your best self. "Our journey has been very public for people to see, so, yes, this is our debut, but also, we have been building this sisterhood for a long time now, and we want to share the message that we are very much stronger together with each other,” she said. “It's really just about sisterhood and being confident and strong and powerful and the best version of yourself.”
