Suicide prank video by Roman Atwood and FouseyTube divides viewers

PRANKSTERS behind videos including the Public Rape Experiment and the Killing My Own Kid Prank have been accused of again crossing the line with a suicide prank video.

Roman Atwood in the arms of a man who talked him down from a fake suicide attempt.

PRANKSTERS behind a viral video have been accused of leveraging the issue of suicide to make money.

The video, viewed more than six million times, shows self-described “pranksters” Yousef Saleh Erakat and Roman Atwood detailing to taxi drivers how their lives have turned for the worse. They then scale a security fence on a bridge and appear to be preparing to jump.

The drivers, clearly distraught, talk the men down before Erakat and Atwood confess that the prank is being filmed and that they were never going to jump.

Some viewers were moved by watching perfect strangers intervene but the video was slammed by many for “experimenting” with such an emotional issue and for driving viewers back to a website selling merchandise.

“I find this social experiment very offensive,” one person wrote.

“I find the video offensive on how they would try and use suicide and depression which people in the world are actually going through as some ‘experiment’”.

Another viewer was even more fired up.

“F***ing pieces of human garbage preying on the kindness of others for views on your sh***y youtube channel. F*** you, clowns,” he wrote.

The taxi driver’s response warmed hearts but the prank divided viewers.

Others pointed out the pair’s videos include links to romanatwood.com or “The official Smile More store” where merchandise including shirts, hats, pens and even toothbrushes are sold.

“This is not an “experiment” of any sort, just like the rest of their “experiments”. These are carefully scripted videos intended to be heartbreaking because stuff like that easily gets viral and accumulates millions of views. More views = more money. They are not trying to spread any messages or raise awareness, they are purposely playing with people’s emotions because that brings them money,” he wrote.

But many viewers, including some suffering from depression, said the video — and the taxi drivers’ responses — were “heartwarming”, “touching” and “beautiful”.

“I go through depression a lot, seeing this makes me wanna think twice before I do self harm to myself, thanks for this god bless you!” a viewer wrote in the comments section.

Another wrote: “I’ve attempted suicide 3 times I think about it a lot. This video has helped me so thank you”.

Suicide prevention advocates agreed. They told news.com.au the video was a positive step towards removing the stigma attached to suicide.

“I must admit I went to look at the video with some trepidation,” Sue Murray, CEO of Suicide Prevention Australia, said.

Talked down.

“But if we think about suicide prevention as ‘everybody’s business’ then the intent is good.”

She said the video should include links to crisis support services but that overall its message is important.

“It needs crisis lines added to it because if someone watches the video it could trigger a behaviour (but) one of the aspects we like is that it brings to light the ability of the average person in the street to help in (suicide) situations.”

It’s not the first time Atwood has tackled sensitive topics. His other videos include “The Kidnapping Children Experiment”, “The Public Rape Experiment” and “The Killing My Own Kid Prank” where he throws a dummy disguised as his five-year-old boy off a second story balcony in front of the child’s mother. That video has been viewed more than 26 million times.

If you or anyone you know are experiencing hard times, contact crisis support service Lifeline on 13 11 14 or visit www.lifeline.org.au.