Bored Ape crypto bros are ‘blinded’ by light at NFT event

In Oedipus Rex, by the ancient Greek playwright Sophocles, the tragic hero Oedipus gouges out his eyes after accidentally killing his own father and sleeping with his own mother. “You have looked enough upon those you ought never to have looked upon,” he cries out as he blinds himself. “Henceforth you shall be dark.” Now, almost 2,500 years later, history seems to have repeated itself, as an audience of NFT collectors – driven to aesthetic sin by the false prophecy of Bored Ape Yacht Club – have suffered “severe” eye damage from a Hong Kong event dedicated to their six-figure apes.

Numerous reports of eye pain and damaged vision flooded X in the wake of the collection event, ApeFest, accompanied by dire footage of crypto bros dancing to EDM. “Anyone else’s eyes burning from last night?” asked one user. “Woke up at 3am with extreme pain and ended up in the ER.”

“I woke up at [4am] and couldn’t see anymore,” replied a different user, noting that it was a widespread complaint among the audience. “Had so much pain and my whole skin is burned. Needed to go to the hospital.” In subsequent tweets, he said that the festival was “amazing” and “remains a great experience”. 

Another collector (the proud owner of a “light-hearted, cheerful, and impeccably well-groomed ape” who goes by Cream Curtis) says that he woke up at 3am with burning eyes and could “barely open them”. Yet another says that they experienced a “waterfall of tears that felt like acid that can’t be washed away”.

So what happened? Did a wrathful God strike down the BAYC collectors for looking on what they ought never to have looked upon – ugly monkey JPEGs with funny little hats and alleged Nazi ties? Well, probably not. As the saying goes: “Never attribute to malice that which is adequately explained by stupidity.”

On November 6, the day after ApeFest ended, an attendee who “almost lost [their] sight” at the event posted an update to X. “So far, 30 hours since [I] woke up with severe eye burn, I’ve visited emergency hospital and eye clinic and spent there a total of six hours,” they wrote. “My vision was tested as close to perfect with no serious cornea damage, luckily.” That said, they were diagnosed with accident-related photokeratitis in both eyes.

Photokeratitis is a condition brought on by unprotected exposure to UV radiation, like sunlight, and is sometimes known as snow blindness or “welder’s eye” depending on the cause. Several other attendees received a similar diagnosis, with doctors suggesting that the blindness and sunburns were caused by intense stage lights at the event.

Bored Ape Yacht Club itself has released a statement following the wave of complaints. “Apes, we are aware of the eye-related issues that affected some of the attendees of ApeFest and have been proactively reaching out to individuals since yesterday to try and find the potential root causes,” the statement reads. “Based on our estimates, we believe that much less than [one per cent] of those attending and working the event had these symptoms.”

The extent of the damage to the “Apes” who were affected remains to be seen, with many reporting that their condition has improved. However, BAYC also encourages anyone who feels similar symptoms to seek medical attention “just in case”.

Apes, we are aware of the eye-related issues that affected some of the attendees of ApeFest and have been proactively reaching out to individuals since yesterday to try and find the potential root causes. Based on our estimates, we believe that much less than 1% of those…

— Bored Ape Yacht Club (@BoredApeYC) November 6, 2023