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An American comedy duo have been slammed for making fun of an Australian woman who remains in a coma after being struck by a rollercoaster.
Anthony Jeselnik and Gregg Rosenthal said the story of how Shylah Rodden was hit by the ride as she tried to retrieve her mobile phone was ‘absolutely hilarious’, with the comments drawing outrage from many online.
The 26-year-old Melbourne woman remains in a critical condition in a medically-induced coma after she was hit by a rollercoaster going 70km/hour last month.
Ms Rodden suffered multiple broken bones and serious brain damage in the incident, but this didn’t stop the comedians from laughing at her misfortune.
Mr Jeselnik laughed throughout his co-host’s retelling of the Royal Melbourne Show tragedy, which included reports the 26-year-old had to relearn how to walk after being involved in a horror car crash just 18 months before.
‘A rollercoaster, that’s your fault, every single time,’ he said in the viral TikTok video.
Anthony Jeselnik (left) and Gregg Rosenthal (right) said the story of how Shylah Rodden was struck by a roller coaster while trying to retrieve her mobile phone was ‘absolutely hilarious’
In January 2021, Ms Rodden flipped a car on the Western Ring Road in Melbourne after ploughing into a truck and a car and was flung onto the road because she hadn’t been wearing a seatbelt.
Rosenthal told his smirking co-host in the video which has been viewed almost 600,000 times: ‘She is in a critical condition after walking onto a rollercoaster track.’
‘She was trying to retrieve a phone. Rodden had just learned to walk again…’
Mr Rosenthal is forced to stop as his co-host bursts out laughing and continues to laugh as he is told Ms Rodden had previously been involved in a ‘horrific’ car crash.
‘Now you’re wondering, why is this funny to us,’ Mr Jeselnik says to their viewers.
‘Walking onto a rollercoaster track is a bad idea. If you drop your cell phone ask someone who works there to get your phone for you.
People on the ride were stuck in the air for about 45 minutes while the scene was cordoned off
Shylah Rodden, 26, remains in a medically induced coma after she was hit by a rollercoaster going 70km/hour at the Royal Melbourne Show
‘Do not jump onto the rollercoaster tracks. She’d gotten hit by a car four years ago, had to go through physical therapy to learn how to walk again.
‘To celebrate learning to walk again she goes to an amusement park and immediately gets hit by a rollercoaster.’
Mr Jeselnik said rollercoasters only go in two directions and that he would understand if it had been a car because ‘anything could’ve happened’.
‘Maybe your in the street, maybe the car jumped the curb. Who knows. A rollercoaster, that’s your fault, every single time,’ he said.
Viewers were divided in the comments of the TikTok video, with some users slamming the skit as ‘appalling’ as others took the opportunity to crack jokes.
‘I have a dark sense of humour but wow,’ one user said.
At one point in the video, Mr Rosenthal was forced to stop as Mr Jeselnik bursts out laughing and continues to laugh as he says Ms Rodden had previously been involved in a car crash
American comedians Anthony Jeselnik (left) and Gregg Rosenthal (right) make a podcast called the Jeselnik & Rosenthal Vanity Project
‘This is the first time I’ve seen you justify laughing at anything,’ another said.
‘I held my breath and pinched my nostrils at the very beginning trying not to laugh. I failed,’ a third commented.
‘A rollercoaster is your fault every time. I’m having that put on a t-shirt,’ one said.
‘The funniest man alive has spoken. Take notes people,’ another user shared.
A witness known as Jordan inadvertently captured the moment Ms Rodden was struck while filming his family on the Rebel Coaster on September 25.
While waiting to record his sister and partner, who were in the front carriage of the ride, he saw a worker speaking to a woman in an unauthorised access area.
Ms Rodden is in a serious but stable condition in a medical-induced coma after being struck by the ride at the Royal Melbourne Show on September 25
A witness said he inadvertently filmed Ms Rodden looking down, fixated on picking up the object, as the roller coaster came charging towards her (pictured, the Rebel Coaster)
The worker told the woman to get away, and she began to walk off, but a few moments later, when he looked back to the ride, he saw Ms Rodden at the front of the ride, bending down into the tracks to collect something.
Despite the passengers’ screams and the rollercoaster charging towards her, Jordan’s footage shows Ms Rodden looking down, fixated on picking up the object, unaware she was in danger.
He said onlookers could not prevent Ms Rodden from walking on the tracks, and that the situation had unfolded rapidly.
Jordan said those on the ride were stuck in the air for about 45 minutes while the scene was cordoned off, and police spoke to Melbourne Show staff and witnesses.
On the day she was struck, Ms Rodden had been working at a friend’s stall at the show when the pair decided to go on a few rides during their break.
She is believed to have dropped her phone while on the rollercoaster.
Police believe she then walked onto the tracks to retrieve her device despite ride operators telling her they would get it in 20 minutes once the ride stopped.
On the day she was struck, Ms Rodden had been working at a friend’s stall at the show when the pair decided to go on a few rides during their break (pictured, the Royal Melbourne Show)
Aspokeswoman from the Royal Melbourne Hospital confirmed Ms Rodden’s condition was now listed as serious rather than critical
On Tuesday, a spokeswoman from the Royal Melbourne Hospital confirmed Ms Rodden’s condition was now listed as serious rather than critical.
The extent of her injuries still remain unclear, with her family – who were grappling with the death of her old brother just two months before the incident – bracing for the possibility she may never speak again.
Her gruelling path to recovery after she was flung onto the road in a car crash in January, 2021 came after yet another serious car crash in 2019.
A Melbourne Royal Show spokeswoman said ‘the safety and well-being of our visitors to the show continues to be our number one priority’.
The safety watchdog WorkSafe is in the process of investigating the incident.
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