Fans alarmed as frail influencer collapses during livestream
The social media influencer was conducting a makeup tutorial when she slumped back on her sofa and appeared to gag.
The 30-year-old blamed 'stress' and admitted she 'wasn't feeling that great' before abruptly ending the stream.
The heartbreaking footage has since been seen by millions and commentators have taken to social media to express concern.
Days later, Eugenia's close friend and influencer Jeffree Star - who boasts 7.9million TikTok followers - admitted she was 'clearly not ok' and that viewers had 'no idea what she's going through.'
Based in Los Angeles, Eugenia shares fashion and beauty content with her 2.7 million TikTok followers, 720,000 on Instagram and 2.1 million subscribers on YouTube.
She rarely addresses her body or diet but has previously spoken about her struggles with eating disorders.
Since she began posting on YouTube in 2013, viewers have repeatedly voiced concern over her extremely thin appearance.
There have even been petitions calling for her to be banned by social media platforms to force her to seek help for eating disorders.
'She genuinely looked so scared before she ended that live,' one TikTok user wrote, following the appearance.
'That stare she was doing when she sat back was so scary and upsetting. I think this is the worst I've seen her,' said another.
Some comments were even darker, with fans expressing fears that Eugenia may not have long left.
'We all know exactly what is going on and it's horrifying,' added a third.
Health professionals warn that extreme fatigue, difficulty concentrating and a gaunt appearance can be signs of serious medical conditions, including malnourishment as a result of severe, long-term food restriction.
As well as causing low mood and energy, it can result in muscle loss, which raises the risk of falls, mobility problems and weakened immunity - making infections more likely.
Severe depletion of subcutaneous fat, which lies just beneath the skin, can also lead to pressure sores and delayed wound healing.
Responding angrily to what appeared to be incessant questions from fans speculating about her health, Star said: 'People love tearing others down even when they're at their worst.
'It's a given that things aren't ok. It's a given.
'You don't know what's happening behind the scenes. You don't know the steps that I've taken, the phone calls I've had, the things that I'm doing. You have no idea.
'When I said she was okay yesterday it was so you would shut up. Clearly she's not okay and I love her... and I will be here for her and I am here for her.
'You have no idea what she's going through. Show a little compassion, show a little kindness.'
Two pre-recorded videos have appeared on Eugenia's account since the incident — though fans claim one was filmed at least a year ago.
She has not returned to TikTok Live since.
Eugenia received treatment for an eating disorder in 2019, reportedly following an intervention by concerned friends.
Later that year, she confirmed she had 'an eating disorder' in a widely viewed interview with fellow YouTuber Shane Dawson - a video that has since been watched more than 30 million times.
In an interview with U.S. psychotherapist and YouTuber Kati Morton, Eugenia admitted she was no longer in 'super-constant therapy,' but added: 'Whenever I do feel like I'm struggling, I am able to talk to a therapist and message her.'
She has not, however, mentioned since if she has received any further treatment.
In the UK, eating disorders, including bulimia, anorexia and binge eating disorder, affect some 1.25 million people.
Damning new figures released last August also showed children's eating disorders had doubled in under a decade.
Experts have also repeatedly raised concerns that the impressionable minds of children and young adults are being easily swayed by social media.
Last year, Australian researchers found watching even 10 minutes of videos on TikTok can negatively affect a woman's body image.
Experts at Charles Sturt University in New South Wales surveyed 273 women aged 18 to 28 on their body image and beauty standards, before splitting them into two groups.
The first watched eight-minute compilations of TikTok videos that included those glorifying eating disorders, dubbed 'pro-anorexia' content.
The other's eight-minute compilation included videos involving nature, cooking and comedy.
While both groups later reported a decrease in body image satisfaction, those exposed to pro-anorexia content saw the largest drop.
Writing in the journal Plos One, the researchers warned that young women exposed to pro-anorexia content on TikTok could face an increase risk of developing disordered eating.
In 2023 TikTok was warned it was not moving swiftly enough to strengthen its content policies after a study found its recommendation algorithm pushed self-harm and eating disorder content to teenagers within minutes of them expressing interest in the topics.
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The Independent
2 hours ago
- The Independent
NIH cuts spotlight a hidden crisis facing patients with experimental brain implants
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However, the FDA doesn't require trial plans to include procedures for long-term device follow-up and maintenance, although the spokesperson stated that the agency has requested those in the past. While some informed consent forms say devices will be removed at a study's end, Lázaro-Muñoz said removal is ethically problematic when a device is helping a patient. Plus, he said, some trial participants told him and his colleagues that they didn't remember everything discussed during the consent process, partly because they were so focused on getting better. Brandy Ellis, a 49-year-old in Boynton Beach, Florida, said she was desperate for healing when she joined a trial testing the same treatment Seeger got, which delivers an electrical current into the brain to treat severe depression. She was willing to sign whatever forms were necessary to get help after nothing else had worked. 'I was facing death,' she said. 'So it was most definitely consent at the barrel of a gun, which is true for a lot of people who are in a terminal condition.' Patients risk losing a treatment of last resort Ellis and Seeger, 64, both turned to DBS as a last resort after trying many approved medications and treatments. 'I got in the trial fully expecting it not to work because nothing else had. So I was kind of surprised when it did,' said Ellis, whose device was implanted in 2011 at Emory University in Atlanta. 'I am celebrating every single milestone because I'm like: This is all bonus life for me.' She's now on her third battery. She needed surgery to replace two single-use ones, and the one she has now is rechargeable. She's lucky her insurance has covered the procedures, she said, but she worries it may not in the future. 'I can't count on any coverage because there's nothing that says even though I've had this and it works, that it has to be covered under my commercial or any other insurance,' said Ellis, who advocates for other former trial participants. Even if companies still make replacement parts for older devices, she added, 'availability and accessibility are entirely different things,' given most people can't afford continued care without insurance coverage. Seeger, whose device was implanted in 2012 at Emory, said she went without a working device for around four months when the insurance coverage her wife's job at Emory provided wouldn't pay for battery replacement surgery. Neither would Medicare, which generally only covers DBS for FDA-approved uses. With her research team at Emory advocating for her, Seeger ultimately got financial help from the hospital's indigent care program and paid a few thousand dollars out of pocket. She now has a rechargeable battery, and the device has been working well. But at any point, she said, that could change. Federal cuts stall solutions Lázaro-Muñoz hoped his work would protect people like Seeger and Ellis. 'We should do whatever we can as a society to be able to help them maintain their health,' he said. Lázaro-Muñoz's project received about $987,800 from the National Institute of Mental Health in the 2023 and 2024 fiscal years and was already underway when he was notified of the NIH funding cut in May. He declined to answer questions about it. Ellis said any delay in addressing the thorny issues around experimental brain devices hurts patients. Planning at the beginning of a clinical trial about how to continue treatment and maintain devices, she said, would be much better than depending on the kindness of researchers and the whims of insurers. 'If this turns off, I get sick again. Like, I'm not cured,' she said. 'This is a treatment that absolutely works, but only as long as I've got a working device.' ____ The Associated Press Health and Science Department receives support from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute's Department of Science Education and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. The AP is solely responsible for all content.
