Bob Costas blamed pink eye for the visible infection he had during NBC’s primetime coverage of the Sochi Olympics last month, but a new report suggest that the real cause may have been a botched Botox injection.
Costas showed up to the beginning of Olympics coverage with bright red eyes, which he told viewers were the result of a nasty infection he got shortly after arriving in Russia.
“I have no choice to go all ‘Peabody and Sherman’ on you for the next couple of nights since I woke up this morning with my left eye swollen shut and just about as red as the old Soviet flag,” Costas said . “According to the NBC doctors here, it’s some kind of minor infection which should resolve itself by the weekend. If only all my issues would resolve themselves that quickly, but that’s another story.”
Bob Costas and his wonky eyes soon became a story of its own , with the search term “Bob Costas eye” trending on Google and a parody Twitter account even popping up for his swollen eyes. The sports anchor ended up with a six-day absence from the broadcast studio while he recovered.
A source now tells the New York Post that it might not have been an infection at all, but instead the result of a beauty treatment gone wrong.
“Bob’s eye infection was due to botched Botox. This isn’t the first time he’s had it,” a source said.
But an expert cast doubt on the claim, telling the Post that infections are rare from Botox.
“If the Botox procedure is done properly, the patient shouldn’t get pink eye,” said New York plastic surgeon Dr. Mark Warfel, who did not treat Costas. “It is highly unlikely unless the procedure was unclean, when the patient could contract cellulitis of the eyelid [symptoms include redness and swelling of the eyelid].”
NBC strongly denied that Botox was the real reason Bob Costas showed up to the Sochi Olympics with two red eyes, saying the story has “zero truth to this.”
