YouTube Star IShowSpeed Was Hospitalized With a Severe Eye Issue — What Happened?

Few YouTubers have a more substantial following than IShowSpeed, who has accumulated 19 million followers on the platform. IShowSpeed, whose real name is Darren Watkins, Jr., posted a video on his YouTube page on July 30, 2023, in which he addressed the camera directly for a little more than a minute.

In that minute, Darren provided an update to his fans, and even said that he thinks it's possible he might die. In the video, his left eye appears to be swollen completely shut, and his right eye also didn't seem to be in great shape either. Naturally, this led many people to wonder what happened to IShowSpeed's eye.

In the video, Darren said that he wasn't sure what was wrong with him. He explained that it felt like someone was stabbing him in the eye repeatedly. He also added that he was experiencing headaches in that region as well. Darren was undergoing treatment at a local hospital and was trying to "remain in good spirits" while dealing with his medical emergency.

At the time, Darren was in Japan, where he was watching soccer matches and meeting a number of players. Although Darren's parents did not accompany him out of the U.S., he was surrounded by close friends while dealing with his eye condition.

Darren's father, Darren Sr., later provided an update on his son's health, telling fans that they shouldn't expect to hear more until the family leaves Japan.

"I am just giving you guys an update on Junior. Junior is doing much better. He was just not feeling himself. We never say ‘sick,’ we just say he wasn’t feeling himself. He made sure that he got himself taken care of," Darren Sr. explained.

Darren Sr. also thanked everyone who had offered their support for his son, saying that the warm wishes and encouragement meant a lot to the whole family. A few days after IShowSpeed left fans traumatized by his swollen eye, reports suggested that the influencer had suffered a severe sinus infection but appeared to be doing much better now.

On Aug.6, Speedy Updates (a fan account on Twitter) shared a photo of IShowSpeed with a healed eye. Then, on Aug. 8, that same account, which has garnered 237,000 followers, stated that IShowSpeed was headed back to the U.S.

Following the news that Darren was in fairly serious condition in the hospital, fans and fellow YouTubers began pouring into the comments on his video to offer their support.

"We're here for you man and praying for a speedy recovery," one person wrote in the comments.

"No matter what happens, we always here for you brother, stay strong were all praying for you to be OK," another person added.

Given his massive following, it's clear that plenty of people are going to be checking for a more detailed update from IShowSpeed and keeping tabs on his health.