Viral comedy duo Shammi Prasad and Austin Gosney have opened up to their audience about heartbreaking news in their personal lives. On Tuesday, the pair shared an unusually candid video, explaining that they usually liked to keep their time off the camera “a bit private” but felt obligated to update their followers with recent developments which had “impacted our daily lives a lot”.
“A couple of weeks ago, I had to put my dog down,” Prasad said through tears, while leaning on crutches. “And then after that, I’ve ended up in hospital with a back injury as well. And while this is all happening, Austin’s got some very unfortunate news as well.”
Gosney then shared his own devastating update, telling viewers, “A few weeks ago, all of a sudden I lost my father”. “Just out of the blue, it was out of nowhere — he was a healthy man,” he said. “Still at a very early age, and this is one of the hardest moments of my life.”
“We kind of can’t believe everything that’s happened, all within the space of two weeks,” Prasad added. “The best thing we can do at the moment is be there for each other. If we feel like filming, we’ll film — if we can’t, we’re just going to have to give ourselves time at the moment.”
In a separate post, Gosney wrote that he had lost his “hero, my best friend and most importantly my Dad”. “Dad was the person I looked up to my entire life,” he said. “A man so caring, loyal and selfless he dedicated over 27 years of his life to Fire and Rescue, and a man who loved his family more than anything in this world. There won’t be a day that goes by that I won’t think about you, miss you, and be grateful for the memories we shared.”
The video received thousands of messages of support from followers. “The fact you’ve come on and poured your hearts out shows us that jokes aside, you’re all human,” one wrote. “Man, it breaks my heart to see you guys crying. Take your time, we need the boys smiling back as soon as possible,” another said. “Look after yourselves above anything lads,” a third wrote.
Prasad, a notorious Gold Coast-based prankster, started making comedy videos in 2014, ultimately garnering more than 20 million followers on Facebook. Gosney transitioned from working as a plumber to joining Prasad’s crew around 2019.
