Bored Ape UV Light Eye Damage Controversy

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"You're laughing? Pepe MILFHunter69 lost his eyesight during a Bored Ape NFT convention and you're laughing?"

NFTS ARE SUCH AN EYE SORE... STONETOSS.COM BAY

Rodney @SkinnyTuna Mr Beast: we just cured 100 kids' blindness Bored Ape Yacht Club: G 4:25 AM . Nov 7, 2023 28.6K Views KX :

walking mirage @atomicthumbs oh my f------ god they used UVC germicidal lamps as blacklights. they're just f------ OUT THERE. you should NEVER see this Been to lots of concerts, festivals, Burning Man, and never have rever experienced f----- eyes like this. UV lights? W--? Bubbles? Huh? Need to prevent this from happening to others! OxTangle.eth @0xTangle-Nov 4 10/10 amazing facilities at @BoredApeYC #Apefest best toilets in HK. Would recommend. Joseph Cox @josephfcox - 15h Attendees of Bored Ape conference said they "couldn't see anymore," woke up with searing eye pain, vision loss. Looks like they were burned with UV light from the stage 404media.co/bored-ape-yach... Attendees at a conference for Bored Ape NTF owners are reporting waking up in the middle of the night following laser and blacklight-heavy performances with extreme eye pain and vision loss. Yuga Labs, the parent company of Bored Ape Yacht Club, hosted ApeFest in Hong Kong from November 3-5. The event was open to holders of Bored Ape NFTS, a crypto project that peaked in 2021 and recently crashed to a two-year low, costing many investors thousands of dollars. "I woke up at 04:00 and couldn't see anymore. Had so much pain and my whole skin is burned. Needed to go to the hospital," one attendee posted on the last day of the event. "The doctor told me the uv of the lightning of the stage did it. It has the same effect as sunlight. Still can not see normally.." 12:26 AM - Nov 7, 2023 - 3M Views walking mirage @atomicthumbs This has happened once before, also in Hong Kong, at a Hypebeast event. Fortunately it can only happen at an event designed for people who think "fluorescent colors glowing under blue light" is the coolest thing possible. hongkongfp.com PHILIPS BOW G30 T8 13 12:33 AM - Nov 7, 2023-207.7K Views HONG KONG FREE PRESS 10 2 111 Post your reply 3.8K t 102 68 3.5K walking mirage @atomicthumbs. 11h Maybe there's one guy in the events sector in Hong Kong whose special trick is germicidal lamps. The Sunburn Marauder escapes into the night once more 口企 ₁204K : ↑ Reply

Bored Ape Yacht Club @BoredApeYC. 19h 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... Show more 941 1 1.3K ZachXBT @zachxbt Fixed the post for you 2.2K Yacht Club 6:57 PM Nov 6, 2023 470.4K Views ₁6.6M ... ↑

Bored Ape Yacht Club @BoredApeYC Ape-ing through Meebtropolis at the Yacht Club Open House. ed TALICO Meebits and Othersidemeta Y 2:18 PM Nov 5, 2023 69.6K Views ASUS YOUR GAMEPLAY TO 10MINS ONLY BAYC ASUS AMEYAR FE : ... OTHERSIDE

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Overview

Bored Ape UV Light Eye Damage Controversy, also known as ApeFest 2023 UV Burns Controversy, refers to discussions and reactions about the 2023 edition of ApeFest, a promotional convention held by the creators of the Bored Ape Yacht Club NFT collection that took place in Hong Kong in early November 2023, after many members reported having irritated eyes, issues with vision and even temporary blindness after leaving the event. While initial speculation revolved around the possibility of a pink eye outbreak, consensus later settled on the event possibly having been lit by UV germicidal lights instead of normal blue lights. News of the purported injuries sustained by attendees trended online in the days following the convention, resulting in discourse and memes appearing online, many mocking in nature.

Background

The 2023 edition of ApeFest was held in Hong Kong from November 3rd to November 5th.^[1] Bored Ape's official X^[2]^[3] (formerly Twitter) account posted promotional updates, with some photos showing the venue lined with glowing blue tube lights (seen below).

00 30 Bored Ape Yacht Club @BoredApeYC Y Our first-ever Yacht Club Open House has officially begun. Come join us today at Kai Tak Cruise Terminal from 2:00-7:00pm HKT. Tickets are still available at openhouse.boredapeyachtclub.com BORED APE PRESENTS Yacht Club Open House 11:39 AM . Nov 5, 2023 65.7K Views

X^[4] user @Feld4014 made a post on November 5th, 2023, denoting a burning sensation in his eyes after attending ApeFest 2023. Shortly after, various other attendees responded to his post reporting similar symptoms and speculating as to what could have caused them.

S FELD | mrbayc.eth 跨 @Feld4014 Anyone else's eyes burning from last night? Woke up at 3am with extreme pain and ended up in the ER. I saw a couple reports but just trying to figure out if there was a common thread. 1:28 PM . Nov 5, 2023 427.6K Views 118 Post your reply 1 76 Still can not see normally.. 178 11 269 Crypto June Ⓒ @CryptoJune777. Nov 5 I woke up at 04:00 and couldn't see anymore. Had so much pain and my whole skin is burned. Needed to go to the hospital. The doctor told me the uv of the lightning of the stage did it. It has the same effect as sunlight. Thanks for the info though. 22 2 55 76 28 ₁25K FELD | mrbayc.eth @Feld4014. Nov 5 Ya and I was in the club house like 70% of the time and I'm still rekt. I can't imagine how people who were out there the whole time are fairing. ↑ Reply 21K 口企

S new S nEENEE @bored_nene Nov 5 Omg yes ! Me and @racs_o eyes are burning so bad! 27 1 2 3 FELD | mrbayc.eth @Feld4014. Nov 5 Doctor doesn't think it's pink eye. I woke up thinking I slept with my eyes open and the ac dried them out. They feel kinda burnt in a weird way. Show replies 18 The weird thing is the skin around my eyes is burning to the touch as well. Blah 2 27 2 1 9 ₁19K 12 12GAUGE @12GLepage · Nov 5 I can confirm it is from the bubbles near the stage. I've also heard rumours it was a disgusting crazy eye prank orchestrated by @_PPMan_ & co. 27 1 11K 19K 6 口企 : FELD | mrbayc.eth @Feld4014. Nov 5 Oh how did you confirm? My initial thought after manically googling was Photokeratitis from maybe the stage lasers 27 ₁10K ... 口企 ...

In addition to posts about eye damage following the event, there were also reports of skin irritation allegedly stemming from ApeFest.^[10]

Developments

On November 6th, 2023, Bored Ape Yacht Club's official X^[5] account made a post regarding attendees of ApeFest suffering from eye-related issues. The post attempted to assure people that "less than 1%" of all attendees had reported eye damage and gathered over 2,000 likes, 1,600 retweets and 1,000 replies in a day (seen below).

Bored Ape Yacht Club @BoredApeYC 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 attending and working the event had these symptoms. While nearly everyone has indicated their symptoms have improved, we encourage anybody who feels them to seek medical attention just in case. 4:11 PM . Nov 6, 2023 6.6M Views

Soon after, X^[6]^[7] users @zachxbt and @ahitposter replied to the aforementioned post with jokes, each garnering thousands of likes in less than 24 hours (seen below).

Online Reactions

In the following days, the story was widely reported on by various media companies, as well as generating numerous reactions, memes and other discussions across social media.^[9]^[10]

On November 6th, 2023, X^[8] user @atomicthumbs made a post documenting some images from Apefest, saying that UV lighting was responsible for the various reports of people suffering from eye injuries. The user also noted that a similar event occurred during a HypeBeast event in Hong Kong in 2017. The post gathered over 24,000 likes in a day (seen below).

On November 7th, webcomic artist Stonetoss posted a comic about the controversy to his X account,^[11] receiving over 3,700 likes in roughly three hours (shown below).