Bored Ape Yacht Club Responds To “Severe Eye Burn'' Complaints From Attendees At ApeFest NFT Event In Hong Kong

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Bored Ape Yacht Club (BAYC) creator Yuga Labs has responded to eye-related issues reported by attendees of the ApeFest event in Hong Kong last week.

Yuga Labs said it was aware of the reports of blurred vision, burning eyes, and extreme pain by some ApeFest attendees. It is also reaching out to the affected individuals to find the root causes, it said.

“Based on our estimates, we believe that much less than 1% of those attending and working the event had these symptoms,” Yuga Labs said. “While nearly everyone has indicated their symptoms have improved, we encourage anybody who feels them 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

The ApeFest non-fungible token (NFT) event held in Hong Kong featured strobe lights and lasers. One theory on Crypto X claimed the cause of the vision problems was the use of disinfecting ultraviolet (UV) lights instead of stage lights.

Community Criticize Bored Ape Yacht Club

Yuga Labs’ response to the issue has not impressed the community. Some say the company was downplaying the incident by claiming only a small number of attendees were affected.

From the PR team:
– Guys completely downplay it, make it look like a small number, eg… less than 1%
– Make it look like you’re actively helping and solving
– Try to ‘Find’ the ‘Potential’ root causes, even though we know exactly what it was
Bruh
— Shad (@madladshad) November 6, 2023

One user, who claimed to be a member of the BAYC community for more than two years, said he had taken a loan to attend ApeFest and ended up “drowning in eye-related medical bills.”

Crypto trader Adrian Zduńczyk was among the affected attendees and said he was diagnosed with photokeratitis, a condition caused by exposure to ultraviolet light.

[For information purposes only]
So far, 30 hours since woke up with severe eye burn, I’ve visited emergency hospital and eye clinic and spent there a total of 6 hours.
Got diagnosed with “photokeratitis over both eyes, accident related” with prescribed steroid eye drops and eye… https://t.co/qZadVqsQFg pic.twitter.com/5EULptCR4H
— Adrian Zduńczyk, CMT (@crypto_birb) November 6, 2023

Yuga Labs has been affected by turbulent waves in the NFT market this year. The floor price of BAYC NFTs is down 65% to around 28 ETH, according to NFT Price Floor.