Kaylee Muthart, a young woman whose name ricocheted across headlines after a harrowing drug-induced episode, has spoken out years after the incident that left her permanently blind—and remarkably, she says she harbors no regrets.
Hailing from Anderson, South Carolina, Kaylee was just 20 when her life spiraled into a nightmare. In 2018, under the grip of a psychotic break brought on by methamphetamine, she gouged out her own eyes in a frantic, delusional attempt to save the world.
What began in high school with marijuana soon escalated into something far darker. After graduating to smoking—and eventually injecting—meth, her addiction consumed her. On the cusp of entering rehab at her mother’s urging, Kaylee chose to chase one last high. That decision would alter everything.
In a terrifying haze, she became convinced that humanity’s survival hinged on a personal sacrifice. “I believed with my whole heart that if I didn’t take my eyes out, everyone would perish,” she recalled in a raw interview with South West News Service via The Daily Mail. “I thought the weight of the world’s balance rested on me.”
Gripped by hallucination and panic, Kaylee dropped to her knees, begging for understanding. “Why me?” she remembered crying out. Then, in an act both horrific and incomprehensible, she forced her fingers into her eye sockets. “I twisted and pulled. It felt endless. It was the most agonizing thing I’ve ever done.”
A nearby pastor stumbled upon the scene, hearing her wailing, “I want to see the light.”
Years later, despite the trauma and a recent job loss, Kaylee stands firm in her conviction. Blinded but not broken, she remains unashamed of her past. Her story is one of unfathomable pain—but also survival, transformation, and a fierce refusal to be defined by the darkness she once fell into.
In February 2018, Kaylee Muthart ripped out her own eyes, and squished them with her hands during a meth induced psychotic episode. Muthart had been awake for almost 48 hours, snorting and injecting a concoction of tainted methamphetamine. pic.twitter.com/jJM8lPOqX2
— Morbid Knowledge (@Morbidful) February 11, 2024
“He later told me that when he came upon me, I was holding my own eyes in my hands,” Kaylee Muthart recalled. “I had crushed them, but they were still somehow dangling, connected to my head.”
That unspeakable moment cost her her vision permanently. But from the wreckage of that day, Kaylee began to rebuild—not just a life, but a self. She overcame the grip of addiction and slowly pieced together a new existence, taking a humble job washing dishes at a local eatery while furthering her education.
Yet life handed her another blow. That job, a symbol of her regained stability, was taken from her. But rather than spiral, Kaylee stood grounded in purpose. “No regrets,” she said resolutely, speaking on the choice that led to her dismissal.
In an interview with The Mirror, Kaylee shared the quiet reason behind her firing: she had been sneaking food from the kitchen to feed a stray cat and her litter of eight kittens. Her small, defiant act of compassion went against the rules—but not against her conscience.
“I’d do it again,” she affirmed. Her gesture cost her employment, but it preserved something far more valuable—her integrity. In her heart, it was the right thing, and that was enough.
Kaylee Muthart was 20 when she ripped out her eyes, squishing them with her hands, after snorting and injecting tainted methamphetamine.
— The Girl Who Said Know (@GirlWhoSaidKnow) February 13, 2024
“The drugs take your fears and beliefs and amplify them… I thought I had to take my eyes out to survive and save the world.”#DontDoDrugs pic.twitter.com/FbYpx9a0ru
The restaurant’s owner eventually confronted Kaylee, asking her to stop giving food to the stray animals. When she refused, unwavering in her decision, it led to her dismissal.
Still, Kaylee met the moment with grace. “I’m feeling hopeful, even after losing my job,” she shared with The Mirror. “Being let go never feels good, but I walked away knowing I followed what I truly believed was right.”
Each night after her shift, a hungry feline waited nearby. “I couldn’t, in good conscience, clock out knowing that little kitty was out there unfed,” she said. “So I’d use the meal I earned during my shift and order it just for her.”
Although losing the job brought emotional strain, Kaylee remains firm in her convictions. “It was hard—losing that bit of independence—but I wouldn’t have been able to live with myself if I hadn’t followed my heart,” she said. “That’s why I wake up each day feeling grounded. I live in peace because I don’t regret the path I took.”
Beyond the job loss, Kaylee has continued her journey of recovery and healing. She now wears prosthetic eyes—not for herself, but to ease how the world perceives her. “I wanted to look more ‘normal’ to those around me,” she admitted.
Still, the shadows linger. “There are nights when sleep won’t come, and those are tough,” she confessed. “But honestly? I’m more content now than I ever was before all of this. I’d choose blindness over being enslaved to drugs any day.”
In her resilience, Kaylee has become a quiet testament to transformation—a soul who clawed her way back from chaos with compassion, clarity, and a heart that still beats fiercely for what’s right.