US comedian’s distasteful ‘jokes’ about Melbourne rollercoaster victim Shylah Rodden
Shylah Rodden, 26, suffered life-changing facial and brain injuries when she was struck by the 70km/h Rebel Coaster at the Royal Melbourne Show
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An American comedian has made a slew of sickening jokes about Melbourne rollercoaster crash victim Shylah Rodden.
Ms Rodden, 26, suffered life-changing facial and brain injuries when she was struck by the 70km/h Rebel Coaster at the Royal Melbourne Show last month and she is still in hospital in a serious condition.
It is believed that she was trying to retrieve her phone at the time of the awful accident.
But US comic Anthony Jeselnik seemed to find the funny side as he discussed the tragedy with NFL Network analyst Gregg Rosenthal.
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“This story is absolutely hilarious to me,” Jeselnik said during his podcast, The Jeselnik & Rosenthal Vanity Project. The episode is called “Your Luck Is Like A Rollercoaster, Baby-Baby”.
“I bet no one could believe it. I bet she feels dumb.”
Ms Rodden had only recently re-learned how to walk at the time of the incident, having been involved in a car crash in January 2021 that saw her car flip after colliding with a truck. Jeselnik burst into laughter as Rosenthal explained this.
Jeselnik said: “Can you be forgiven because you haven’t been walking around that much that you don’t really know how to walk, and so you think walking onto rollercoaster tracks are fine?”
“It’s bad luck but rollercoasters only go in two directions. It’s hard to get hit by them.
“A car, ok anything could have happened, maybe you’re in the street, maybe the car jumped the kerb.
“A rollercoaster, that’s your fault every single time.”
Rounding off the story, Jeselnik added: “I can’t wait for another update when she gets hits by a truck in heaven.
“If she lives, play the lottery immediately because your luck has got to turn around.”
News.com.au has contacted Jeselnik and his management for comment.
It recently emerged that Ms Rodden was struggling to cope with the loss of her brother when she was struck by the Rebel Coaster.
Her friend Ggypo Nawar appealed for prayers in a post on Facebook following the tragedy.
“Please pray for Shylah Rodden. Shylah Rodden is one of my best friends [and has a] heart of gold. Shyla has always been there for me and is always there for anyone, not just her friends,” Mr Nawar wrote in his post.
“She has suffered a horrible accident at the Melbourne Show and was put in a induced coma. I don’t know her current status but please ask anyone who sees this to make a small prayer for her and her family, even if it’s [as] small as please God help them heal.
“Shylah and her family lost their son/brother a few months ago and were all still grieving. I saw the pain this had on Shylah.”
He added Ms Rodden was someone who “would always try to cheer up anyone who was upset” and would go without to “help others”.
“Every day since everyone started [their] prayers Shylah has improved.”
Originally published as US comedian’s distasteful ‘jokes’ about Melbourne rollercoaster victim Shylah Rodden
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