The Black Eye Club

Submission 26,077

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About

The Black Eye Club is a conspiracy theory suggesting that politicians and celebrities that have been seen with a black eye (often the left eye only, including people like Kanye West and Pope Francis) were given these injuries by members of a secret elite society for an unknown reason. Conspiracy theorists have speculated that the black eyes could be a warning to keep these people in check, the result of an Illuminati initiation ritual, being given an adrenochrome shot or that they're the result of "soul scalping" by a reptilian humanoid race. The theory seemingly began on YouTube in August 2017 and spread over the following years, popularized by The Phoenix Enigma website.

Origin

On August 3rd, 2017, YouTuber^[1]^[2] Perspectives posted two videos titled, "Chuck Hagel Black Eye Club" and "John Kerry Black Eye Club." In the videos, she shared how she noticed that politicians who supported then-President Barack Obama's foreign policy positions, mainly surrounding the Middle East, have ended up "marked" with a black eye. She also suggested that the official stories behind the black eyes were "wildly concocted."

In the first video (shown below, left), she said that Chuck Hagel was "marked" right around the time he resigned as Secretary of Defense under supposed pressure from Obama after struggling to articulate a strategy to defeat ISIL in Syria and Iraq. Hagel's official reason for his injury, which was reported by CNN^[3] on November 11th, 2014, was a kitchen accident. He resigned on November 14th of that year. On August 4th, she then posted a third video to YouTube^[4] on the topic about Harry Reid. The videos gained roughly 700, 13,000 and 3,100 views, respectively, in five years.

The Phoenix Enigma Article

On May 9th, 2018, The Phoenix Enigma^[5] published an article further exploring the Black Eye Club conspiracy theory. The article claimed there were two main categories of Black Eye Club members, "those seated firmly into positions of government/politics and those in the entertainment/Hollywood." The article also offered a number of theories regarding the black eyes, writing:

Theories as to this strange phenomenon are abuzz on the internet and range from a secret society ritual that involves striking the participant in the head, to alien abduction and “Soul Scalping” in order to replace our world leaders with alien consciousness […] Another theory holds that it is a form of punishment used as a sort of check and balance within secret societies. And still, other theories lean towards the implementation of life extension technologies or preparatory surgeries for off-world travel […] A less extreme theory holds that the phenomenon is nothing more than the entertainment industry capitalizing on the public’s recent enlightenment of the existence of the Illuminati. But let’s assume for a moment this is only media marketing.

The article then listed numerous supposed members of the Black Eye Club, stating the officially given reasons for their black eyes if they had one. The article was updated as recently as 2021 with additional examples. People listed include Obama, Kanye West, Pope Frances, Mitt Romney, Bernie Sanders, Prince Andrew, Madonna, Ryan Gosling, Robert Downey Jr., Steve Buscemi, Justin Bieber, Jamie Oliver and more (examples shown below).

Theories

The Phoenix Enigma article went on to explain the possible reasons for the black eyes in greater detail. The first suggestion was that they're the result of a ritual, such as an initiation practice.

The next suggestion was that it could be a form of "checks and balances," writing, "It has been theorized that the black eyes are a result of an internal power structure. Checks and balances. Warnings or perhaps even rites of passage within what is generally referred to as the Illuminati. Is there an organization so powerful that even the Pope and heads of monarchy are subject to its law? Some think so."

The third hypothesis was that the black eyes were a result of "soul scalping," described as something done by an elite reptilian humanoid race where they insert a worm-like creature into the brain of a person to take control of them. Supposedly, the worm is often inserted through the eye, sometimes requiring surgery, thus leaving a black eye.

In later years, conspiracy theorists hypothesized that the black eyes were a result of an injection of adrenochrome, which is purported by conspiracy theorists to help people stay youthful.

Spread

The theory spread over the following years in conspiracy circles online. On July 20th, 2018, The Daily Mail^[6] notably reported on the conspiracy theory.

On July 26th, 2018, Fellowship Of The Minds^[7] published an article about the Black Eye Club. On the same day, Facebook^[8] user Tao Te Ching posted an image macro compiling photos of celebrities and politicians with black eyes captioned, "THE BLACK EYE CLUB Who is punching them?" along with an explanation of the theory, garnering over 200 shares and 50 reactions in four years (shown below).

On August 6th, 2021, Quad Cities^[9] then published an article spreading the theory. On September 3rd, TikToker^[10] @quicknoteconspiracies posted a video briefly summarizing the theory, garnering over 419,000 views in a year (shown below).

On October 1st, Twitter^[11] user @Pismo_B shared a photo of Mitt Romney with what appears to be a black eye, writing, "Mittens has been initiated into the black eye club," garnering over 300 likes in a year (shown below, left). On December 11th, Twitter^[12] user @TNTJohn1717 then made a post suggesting Dr. Phil was initiated into the club (shown below, right).

Doja Cat's October 2022 Black Eye Makeup / Popularity On TikTok

In October 2022, Doja Cat attended Paris Fashion Week with makeup that resembled a black eye and split lip.^[13] That month, social media users, especially on TikTok and Twitter, began suggesting that the black eye was a result of her initiation into the Black Eye Club and Doja Cat "selling her soul" to the Illuminati (examples shown below). Videos about the Black Eye Club increased on the platform that month in general, with the hashtag "#blackeyeclub" boasting over 4 million views as of November 2nd, 2022.

Doja Cat later responded to the rumors about her selling her soul on Twitter^[14]^[15] through jokes (examples shown below). Other factors contributed to the rumors that she sold her soul, including her Illuminati-themed birthday party, where her cake featured an Illuminati symbol.^[16]

Paul Pelosi Hammer Attack

On the morning of October 28th, 2022, Paul Pelosi was attacked in his San Francisco home by a male assailant with a hammer.^[17] Some conspiracy theorists on Twitter^[18]^[19] suggested the attack was his initiation into the Black Eye Club, with some sharing an image of him seemingly with a black eye (shown below). According to Reuters,^[20] the image is altered.

2023 Roseanna Barr Interview

On August 31st, 2023, X^[21] user @JackStr42679640 posted a clip from an interview with Roseanna Barr where she has a black eye and directly mentions the Black Eye Club, also calling it the "Satan club," garnering over 2,400 likes in five days (shown below).