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Is Shawn Johnson Dead? No, Just In The Onion



By this point, 99% of the American population is aware of The Onion, the satirical newspaper/audio-visual conglomerate. Every now and then though, there’s that other 1% that thinks it’s a legitimate news source.

A recent video piece by The Onion said that gymnast Shawn Johnson had fallen from the uneven bars while training and broken her knee. She was then euthanized.

The fake news interview with Shawn’s family is a funny send-up of pushy parents as well as the differences of how we treat horses vs. humans. Not everyone is laughing though.

Some people, including one of Johnson’s former teammates, think that the video is crossing the line. So far, her family’s response was through Johnson’s publicist Susan Madore who said, “At this time there will be no comment from Shawn or her parents about the video.”

That’s probably the best idea. Getting offended will only make the video an even bigger hit for The Onion.

‘Shawn Johnson Dead’ Video Doesn’t Amuse Her Friends and Family [Fanhouse]

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By Jonathan Sacks on June 17th, 2009 | Tags: , | Category: Gymnastics | Comments are closed

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  • Julia

    THAT WAS NOT FUNNY. IM A GYMNAST AND IM NOT GOING TO DIE BECAUSE OF A BROKEN KNEE. IT WASN'T FUNNY. THEY TALK ABOUT THE PRICE AND HER CRYING. NOT FUNNY! SHAWN I'M STILL A FAN.

  • Victor Andrade

    I believe that a star is always a star,and for the Onion to do something like that, it is not only unprofesional but harrasing,That is why there name is the onoin ,cause they stink and don't think. Maybe if they loose customers they themselfves will die too.That sure will be a broken knee on there Retained Revenue.

  • Carnnnoz

    I thouth she was sleeping or something (for a long time) when i first saw the video but then i saw an image on the video with a “1992-2009″ and i thought she was dead, and I became worried haha, but I read in other pages as in here that that was kind of fake video or something and now Im fine haha.. “We love you Shawn” haha..

  • Lori

    The parents acutally agreed to this!! Wow then they have some sick minds, how could u do something like that!! That was not funny I thought it was really at first!!

  • shinobivega

    You people are pathetic. Get a sense of humor and then come back to the table. You guys are acting like this was done by the Washington Post. You guys seriously need a life. If you don't want to be offended, don't read the Onion. Nothing is sacred to these guys and if you can't handle that, step off.

  • Siobhan176

    LOOK now that was not funny. Shawn Johnson is my idol and to tell me she was dead was the worst thing on Earth it was the horriblist trick to ever play on gymnast such like myself who believes in Shawn. Shawn I will still follow you with my heart and soul!

  • jackyluvpeace

    that is so not true she didn't even die her dumb parent's just wanted to be on t.v that's probably why they did this to her

  • taylorbrookemullins2

    Okay so this was NOT funny at all!! Shawn is my idol! And at 1st i thought it was true and i started crying! Then it stared sounding stupider and then uhhh NOT FUNNY!!

  • shinobivega

    I can't believe so many of you are taking this so seriously. It's called a “joke”, everybody!

    *sigh*
    Okay, since most of you are too freaking dense to figure it out for yourselves, I'll explain it to you myself.

    Sometimes when an animal is too sick or too injured (and is suffering too greatly as a result of said injury), it may be put out to pasture. Killed off, basically. In some cases, it may be to put them out of their misery or because they simply because they are no longer useful, or maybe both.

    Well, sometimes when an athlete suffers a grave injury, his or her career may end up being “put out to pasture” just like diseased animals. Well, the Onion decided to apply that allegory far more LITERALLY, instead of killing of their career, they kill the person instead. Just like a sick dog being put out of its misery.

    So there! The mystery is now laid bare before you! Now do you get it? Good.

  • bigheartmtn

    Hey, I agree that it wasn't funny and gave a scare to some people. But really, they were trying to relate it to horse racing, as a parody. Shawn is alive, and those were NOT her real parents. Anyway, I don't think this was funny, but I think you should get over it. It was a parody, like anything… a Hannah Montana parody, Twilight, etc. Some people will be entertained, some will not. Anyway, just stop hating on others because everyone is okay!!

  • bigheartmtn

    Hey, I agree that it wasn't funny and gave a scare to some people. But really, they were trying to relate it to horse racing, as a parody. Shawn is alive, and those were NOT her real parents. Anyway, I don't think this was funny, but I think you should get over it. It was a parody, like anything… a Hannah Montana parody, Twilight, etc. Some people will be entertained, some will not. Anyway, just stop hating on others because everyone is okay!!

  • idkkkkk

    i thought that it was not funny at all and i knew that it was fake but stiull her parents do have sick minds. i first kne that it was fake because shawn didnt even come in first… im pretty sure nastia did in the olympics… and then i knew that it was fake cuz her parents were not crying and then it just went off from ther and none of the onion stuff is veer funny and people who are saying that other people are over-reacting they arent they are just expressing their opinion, just like you guys are so ummm yeah stupid and i feel this video was soooo unnecccessary and even could affend some people… i am a gymnast and i feel that this wasnt funny, at alll

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