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[[quoteright:350:[[ComicBook/MortadeloYFilemon https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/mort_and_phil_911.png]]]]
[[caption-width-right:350:1992: FunnyBackgroundEvent.\\
2001: [[UsefulNotes/TheWarOnTerror Tasteless joke]].]]
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->''"But that joke isn't funny anymore\\
It's too close to home\\
And it's too near the bone,\\
More than you'll ever know"''
-->-- '''Music/TheSmiths''', "That Joke Isn't Funny Anymore"

Harsher in Hindsight is a certain event, plotline, joke or saying where a later event (in the story or {{real life}}) comes up to make it worse. It can lead to [[BannedEpisode episodes or issues being pulled or held from re-running]] if executives want it to be DistancedFromCurrentEvents.

This leads to a rather heartwrenching moment and makes some people feel uneasy when they view the event in the original work.

It is different from DoesThisRemindYouOfAnything, which is for works released shortly after the tragic event, and where the similarity in the plot is intentional. Note, however, that there is usually a delay between the creation of a work and the day when it finally becomes available to the public, and sometimes a tragic event similar to a point from the plot takes place in the meantime. Sometimes the work is slightly modified to avoid this effect, but sometimes doing so would change it so much, or would demand so many resources, that the work is released anyway as it was initially conceived.

Compare DistancedFromCurrentEvents, LifeImitatesArt, CerebusRetcon (elements that were originally comedic or light-hearted are later deconstructed and played as tragic).

Note that if the event in question is something inevitable, such as an actor dying after having played [[KilledOffForReal a character who was killed off]], that's not necessarily this. We all have to go at some point. It would only be this trope if the death was somehow similar to how they died onscreen. It is also possible that an actor portraying a sympathetic character turns out to be a heinous person in real life, but that is not enough to deem all of their scenes as harsher in hindsight; the moment in the work must be somehow related to their heinous actions then felt worse because of the scandal. And if a work references something that already was an issue back then, but "[[Administrivia/ExamplesAreNotRecent recently]]" became more relevant, such as [[BigotWithABadge police racism]] and [[PoliceBrutality brutality]], [[UsefulNotes/COVID19Pandemic contagious illnesses]], or natural disasters, there needs to be specific details in common with the real life event for it to be worth listing here.

Contrast HilariousInHindsight (though BlackComedy makes some overlap possible), HeartwarmingInHindsight.

'''This trope usually relates to certain events and plot twists, so ''beware of unmarked spoilers!'''''

'''''Note:''''' ''Examples can only be added once the event that makes them harsher has ended. In particular, anything related to a widespread disease, basic hygiene, hoarding of any kind, or something similar to social distancing doesn't inherently mean that there's a connection to the UsefulNotes/COVID19Pandemic. Please don't add examples of this nature.''
----
!!Example subpages:
[[index]]
* HarsherInHindsight/{{Advertising}}
* HarsherInHindsight/AnimeAndManga
* HarsherInHindsight/ComicBooks
* HarsherInHindsight/ComicStrips
* HarsherInHindsight/FanWorks
* [[HarsherInHindsight/{{Film}} Films]]
* HarsherInHindsight/{{Literature}}
* HarsherInHindsight/LiveActionTV
* HarsherInHindsight/{{Music}}
* HarsherInHindsight/ProfessionalWrestling
* HarsherInHindsight/{{Radio}}
* HarsherInHindsight/StandUpComedy
* HarsherInHindsight/TabletopGames
* HarsherInHindsight/{{Theatre}}
* HarsherInHindsight/VideoGames
* HarsherInHindsight/WebAnimation
* HarsherInHindsight/WebOriginal
* HarsherInHindsight/{{Webcomics}}
* HarsherInHindsight/WesternAnimation
* HarsherInHindsight/RealLife
[[/index]]

!!Other examples:
[[foldercontrol]]

[[folder:Artwork]]
* [[https://web.archive.org/web/20180104211647/http://vallejo.ural.net/1997/show.php?008 This work]] (warning, NSFW) by Creator/BorisVallejo, painted in 1997, is supposed to depict the ruins of New York City a thousand years in the future (as Vallejo himself commented on after the 9/11 attacks), but the Twin Towers are still standing.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Magazines]]
* While the infamous ''Magazine/SportsIllustrated'' [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sports_Illustrated_cover_jinx Cover Jinx]] is often the source of laughs, it can also go the other way.
** It can't be counted how many times ''SI'' features a cover of an athlete with talk of having a great season only for them to suffer a season (if not career) ending injury (sometimes when that very issue is still on the stands).
** Obviously, any cover featuring O.J. Simpson as everything right about football has a much different meaning today.
** The 1998 "Sportsman of the Year" issue featured Mark [=McGwire=] and Sammy Sosa, whose home run race had invigorated baseball, dressed like classic Greek Olympians. Today, both men are known to have been taking performance-enhancing drugs during their careers, tarnishing their legacy.
** In late 2012, ''SI'' did a cover story on Notre Dame player [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Manti_Te%27o#Girlfriend_hoax Manti Te'o]] losing both his beloved grandmother and his long-time girlfriend in the same week. It led to a huge outpouring of support to Te'o and pushed his fame. Months later, it would be revealed Te'o's girlfriend never existed with him claiming he'd been "catfished," others believing he had made the whole thing up and the magazine among many with egg on their face.
** In a 2014 60th anniversary issue, ''SI'' noted they had devoted nearly a dozen covers to Lance Armstrong, hailing his heroic recovery from cancer to win seven Tour de France races. This included naming him Sportsman of the Year 2002 Sportsman of the Year and how he was a great ambassador to sports. Thus, they were as rocked as everyone when in 2012, Armstrong confessed to having been taking PED's through his entire career, leading to him being stripped of all those victories, banned from cycling, and destroying his heroic image.
** The 2020 Baseball Preview special hit newsstands and subscribers on the weekend of March 13...the same weekend the Usefulnotes/Covid19Pandemic caused mass shutdowns of the United States and curtailed the MLB season to a 60-game schedule.
** The 2021 Olympic preview issue featured Simone Biles on the cover and speculating how many gold medals she'd win. While the issue was on the stands, Biles had to pull out of several events due to various health and mental issues (including her aunt dying) as well as intense public pressure.
* For its February 1970 issue, the rock music magazine ''Circus'' had a [[https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/49474102216_b54cd61b0f_o.jpg front cover]] showing photos of numerous musicians along with the headline "These People Are Approaching 30 - Will They Survive the 70's?". Among the faces shown: [[Music/TheDoors Jim Morrison]], Music/JanisJoplin, and Music/JimiHendrix. Joplin and Hendrix wouldn't even survive ''that year'', while Morrison would be dead before '71 was half over.
* The June 1993 ''Magazine/DisneyAdventures'' cover featured Music/MichaelJackson carrying a delighted WesternAnimation/{{Pinocchio}} (his favorite Disney character, according to the magazine) on his shoulders. Two months later, Jackson was first accused of child molestation and in the years to come his Neverland Ranch would be compared to Pleasure Island, where young boys were free to play but had to pay a horrific price for their fun -- including at his 2004-05 trial on a second set of charges. Similarly, all the "Pied Piper of Pop" accolades that flew around him in TheEighties turned sour in the wake of the accusations, as people remembered [[InvasionOfTheBabySnatchers what happened to the kids he enchanted]]. (A ''Magazine/{{Cracked}}'' back cover in '93 spoofed this with Jackson as "The Pied Piper of Encino".)
* Charb, cartoonist and editor in chief of the French satirical magazine ''Charlie Hebdo'', published a drawing on January 7th, 2015 on the magazine's Twitter feed, titled "Still no terrorist attack in France", in which a terrorist said "[they] had until the end of January for the wishes." [[http://www.theguardian.com/world/live/2015/jan/07/shooting-paris-satirical-magazine-charlie-hebdo A few hours later]], two Al-Qaeda members attacked the magazine's offices, with Charb being one of the 12 killed in the process.
* ''Magazine/{{MAD}}'': In the "20 Dumbest People, Events, and Things" for 2008, Amy Winehouse's destructive behavior was listed at number 11. The end of the entry stated: "''It makes us wonder if her next full-house appearance will be at a funeral home.''" About two-and-a-half years later, Winehouse was found dead in her London flat at age 27.
** In 2019, the “Dumbest thing” of the year was the assumption that ''MAD'' would stop publishing new material completely after firing most of their staff. They insisted new issues would be a mix of first runs and reprints. Which was true...at a 20-80 split. And only [[DownerEnding for a few more months.]]
* The April 8, 2011 issue of ''Entertainment Weekly'' had an editor's note saying "we had a tough choice to make" in their covers: Either the planned story on "The Governator", a planned animated series that would be the first big project of Creator/ArnoldSchwarzenegger since leaving the office of Governor of California or the death of Creator/ElizabethTaylor. ''EW'' decided to have the main cover on "The Governator" and a "flip cover" on Taylor and her life. As soon as the issue hit, the reaction made it clear the ''vast'' majority of readers felt the passing of an iconic Hollywood and pop culture legend merited the cover more [[WorstNewsJudgmentEver than a cartoon show that wouldn't air for at least a year]]. But just one month later, Schwarzenegger's wife, Maria Shriver, filed for divorce, revealing he'd fathered a child with their maid 14 years earlier. The resulting scandal ultimately canceled the cartoon show to make the cover choice far worse.
* The July 20, 2012 issue of ''Entertainment Weekly'' had a [[http://cdn.batman-news.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/07/EntertainmentWeeklyJuly20cover.jpg cover]] about ''Film/TheDarkKnightRises'', calling it "Batman's Killer Finale". This became very unfortunate when a midnight screening for the movie [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2012_Aurora,_Colorado_shooting was targeted by a shooter]] who killed 12 and injured many others.
* The July 2020 issue of ''Empire'' magazine had a list of "50 Greatest Movie Heroes" which included ''Film/{{Black Panther|2018}}'', ending the entry with "long may he reign." Three months later, ''Empire'' was doing a massive tribute issue following the shocking passing of ''Creator/ChadwickBoseman''.
* The November 2020 issue of ''Total Film'' magazine included an in-depth interview with Creator/ArmieHammer, including the opening line calling him a "warm and personable man" and gushing on his great career. A few months after the issue, Hammer would be embroiled in controversy over [[https://www.vanityfair.com/hollywood/2021/03/the-fall-of-armie-hammer-a-family-saga-of-sex-money-drugs-and-betrayal accusations of abuse]] over years among other dark stories, leading to a full criminal investigation that has damaged his career.
* The last 2021 issue of ''People'' magazine, released on December 30th, had a cover story celebrating the 100th birthday of Creator/BettyWhite, who would be celebrating it on January 17th, 2022. White died on New Year's Eve, 2021 at the age of 99.
* Naturally, any ''Magazine/TVGuide'' cover featuring Creator/BillCosby comes off much worse today. Notably, in 2013, he was chosen to represent TV of the 1980s for covers marking ''TV Guide's'' 60th anniversary, less than a year before the horrific reports of his crimes came to light.
* The October 2022 issue of ''Vanity Fair'' contained an article that previewed a book discussing how [[UsefulNotes/CharlesIII Prince Charles of Wales]] had his speech prepared for when he became King after the death of his mother. ''The very day'' the issue was published, Queen UsefulNotes/ElizabethII died at the age of 96, with the newly crowned King Charles making that very speech the next day.
* The March 2023 issue of ''Total Film'' included an interview with Creator/HaydenPanettiere that had her saying "I feel lucky every day, I feel blessed." Just a week before the issue was published, Panettiere's brother Jansen died of heart complications.
* The cover of Newsweek magazine Jan 26, 1998 was Robin Williams, looking serious, holding a stethoscope to his own forehead, next to the caption "Are We All A Little Crazy?" It's supposed to be a joke, but Williams hung himself after he was diagnosed with Parkinson's, and the autopsy found Dementia with Lewy bodies (which is very similar). In short, he died with brain illness, and took his life with something that's shaped a lot like a stethoscope.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Myths & Religion]]
* ''Literature/TheBible'':
** ''Literature/TheFourGospels'': [[http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Matthew+25:8-9 Matthew 25:8-9]] has become more disturbing from UsefulNotes/WorldWarII to this day.
--->8 The foolish ones said to the wise, 'Give us some of your oil; our lamps are going out.'\\
9 "'No,' they replied, 'there may not be enough for both us and you. Instead, go to those who sell oil and buy some for yourselves.'
** ''Literature/BookOfGenesis'': [[http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Genesis+8:7-12 Genesis 8:7-12]] talks about Noah's Ark during the time when the whole Earth is already submerged in floods. On August 7, 2012, much of Manila, Philippines was submerged in floods due to heavy monsoon rains.
** Given the Bible's enormous length and scope, there is almost always a passage somewhere that brings contemporary events to mind -- people see analogues to the Roman Empire in the European Union, to "the four horsemen" in Genghis, Subotai, Kublai and Ogedai Khan, etc.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Podcasts]]
* In the ''Analyze Phish'' miniseries of podcasts on the Earwolf Radio Network, comedy writer Harris Wittels and Scott Aukerman attend a 2013 Music/{{Phish}} concert in a final effort to get Aukerman to appreciate the band. Before the show, Wittels takes Aukerman around to various drug dealers who provide purportedly psychotropic substances to help get Aukerman in the zone. Through it all, the two comedy writers joke around and make light of Wittels' familiarity with drug culture. The episode did not get released until almost a year after it was recorded due to Wittels checking himself into rehab, and he died of a drug overdose in 2015.
* Episode 32 of LetsPlay/HatFilms' podcast Hat Chat was named after (and had a long segment related to) a Russian space experiment on the impact of zero-gravity on geckos having sex. During the segment, they joked the geckos would probably all die horribly. The satellite eventually returned with all occupants having frozen to death. This is perhaps HilariousInHindsight now that Smith owns three geckos.
* In-story example from ''Podcast/HelloFromTheHallowoods.'' Watching Little Mikey get bullied is hard enough on its own, but then we find out two of the bullies picking on him for his "boyfriend" are together as adults, and at least one of them is still dealing deep-seated internalized homophobia. Relistening to the bullying scene becomes darker knowing it's not only coming from a place of self-hatred, but one that hasn't gone away after more than a decade.
* In 2011, the podcast ''Lost in the Static'' did an [[https://soundcloud.com/lostinthestatic/episode-45-dark-nets-smart episode]] about the Darknets, where at one point the uncomfortable topic of child pornography is broached, and co-host Scott Murray talks about a pedophile's stated motivation, and why it doesn't make any sense to a sane, rational person. A few years later...[[http://bailbondcity.com/wisconsin/brown-inmate-MURRAY/16CF271 well...]]
* ''Podcast/MomCantCook'' {{Discusse|dTrope}}s this several times:
** After spending all of the ''Film/ZenonGirlOfThe21stCentury'' episode joking about how they have no idea what the connotations of the film's expression "blow an O-ring" are, they note in the next episode that they got many emails telling them that the ''Challenger'' disaster was caused by a part called an O-ring failing. Both of them are baffled as to why Disney would add this very dark piece of slang into a kids' film (''Zenon'' was adapted from a book, but "blow an O-ring" was a Disney original, so to speak), and seem to consider it an example of this trope. This is brought up in the decription for the episode on ''Zenon: The Zequel'' as well:
---> Why do they keep saying "blow an O-ring", even though we all know what it means now?
** When discussing ''Film/FirstKid'', they bring up how the titular kid is just talking to and ''agreeing to meet up with'' strangers online, and his bodyguard's only concern is if he's told anyone his real identity.
** The fact that ''Film/CadetKelly'' was made and set in 2002, a year before the disastrous Second Gulf War, draws quite a bit of attention from the hosts, who assume all the characters were shipped off to Iraq the next year and suffered horribly.
* ''Podcast/MyBrotherMyBrotherAndMe'':
** One episode featured a brief bit involving a Robin Williams impersonation which ended in an implied suicide. This episode was released shortly before Williams's death by suicide. The podcast's creators expressed regret over this bit, and removed it from the version of the episode currently available on the show's feed.
** Another episode had a bit where Travis jokingly suggested that Creator/KevinSpacey was being forced to make terrible movies like ''Film/NineLives2016'' because someone was using damaging information to blackmail him. The following year, Spacey was outed as a sexual predator who was accused of having harassed numerous young men, including ''Series/StarTrekDiscovery'' actor Anthony Rapp, who claims he was only 14 when Spacey tried to seduce him.
* Like most podcasts produced through a network, ''Podcast/MysteryShow'' ends some episodes with promos for the network (Creator/GimletMedia in this case) and their other shows. Starlee gushing about her employers and their other projects can be uncomfortable considering their somewhat bitter separation after the first season.
* ''Podcast/RiffTrax'':
** During the commentary of ''Film/Terminator3RiseOfTheMachines'', either Mike Nelson or Kevin Murphy makes an offhand comment about Creator/HeathLedger dying of a drug-related matter. Although this was released back in 2006 while he was still alive, anyone who's heard it after the unfortunate events of January 2008 when Ledger died of a sleeping pill overdose has to just cringe.
** On the ''Film/TheAvengers2012'' commentary, when Loki grabbed Tony by the neck after talking about "performance issues", Mike Nelson said "Yes! Choke him before he goes full Robin Williams! Thank you". This was two years before Williams hanged himself.
* The ''Podcast/WeHateMovies'' podcast:
** The RunningGag in their episode for ''Film/ShesAllThat'' is "Do not worry about Creator/PaulWalker!"
** Their episode on ''Film/MrsDoubtfire'', recorded before Creator/RobinWilliams' death, manages to avert this for the most part, given that they do praise Williams for being talented when he does more than just riff countless impressions, and mention that the fault lies more with the bad script and director Creator/ChrisColumbus for not trying to rein him in. Nonetheless, some moments are... disquieting, to say the least.
** In the ''Film/DeepImpact'' episode (recorded before Williams' death), they suggest that he might have been one of the elite few selected by the government to survive the asteroid in one of the underground caves for "comic relief," with one of the guys groaning "Good Lord. I'd commit suicide if I was locked in a cave with Robin Williams."
** In the ''Film/TheBoondockSaintsIIAllSaintsDay'' episode, the guys riff on Troy Duffy's feud with Harvey Weinstein and strongly side with Weinstein as the better person, saying that while Duffy is an arrogant hack who makes too many GayPanic jokes, Weinstein is just a mean studio exec who makes great movies. Weinstein would, a few years later, be accused of a spree of sexual assaults and other crimes, making him even more of a pariah than Duffy.
* ''Podcast/TheWorstIdeaOfAllTime'':
** Jokingly invoked in the parody commentary for ''Film/BatmanAndRobin'', where, while in-character as director Creator/JoelSchumacher and writer Akiva Goldsman, the guys brought up the fact that Music/RKelly contributed to the film's soundtrack. They jokingly noted that Kelly was still a respected and well-liked singer during the late 90s, and that all the disturbing details about his personal life and sexual misconduct made it difficult for the movie to secure a rerelease to celebrate its 20 year anniversary.
** In the parody commentary for ''Superbabies: Film/BabyGeniuses 2'', Tim Batt jokingly claimed that Scott Baio has a close relationship with American law enforcement because he's been arrested so many times. The following year, former child actress Nicole Eggert alleged that Baio molested her on the set of ''Series/CharlesInCharge''.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Sports]]
%%* In September 2009, troubled former NHL player Theoren Fleury began a much-publicized attempt at a comeback by signing a tryout contract with the Calgary Flames. On September 25, though making an admirable effort to return to the game after recovering from alcohol and drug addictions, he was released from his contract. Even worse for Fleury? An article about his comeback published by Canada's largest sports network TSN was titled "Snuffed Out." Given Canada's obsession with the game of hockey, this being just an oversight is... well, unlikely.
* Murray Walker signed off the 1994 Pacific Grand Prix coverage by remarking how interesting the season was turning out, and told us to look forward to the next race at Imola where anything could happen. And how it did, as crashes claimed two lives and sent another pilot to the hospital.
** On the Eurosport coverage of the 2nd qualifying session at Imola, the commentators were joined by one of the team mechanics. The subject of Barrichello's accident the day before was brought up, and the mechanic went into a long spiel of how safe Formula One is now and how the cars protect the drivers so well. Before he had the chance to finish what he was saying, Roland Ratzenberger's shattered car, complete with fatally injured driver, popped up onscreen.
** 10 years before, Clive James narrated the official season review tape with his signature wit. After a start line shunt in which Nelson Piquet lost a wheel, narrowly missing Ayrton Senna's head, James remarked: "Luckily, the flying wheel did not kill Senna this time". What was a little remark in 1984 now sounds so different post-1994, as Senna's crash was fatal because his own wheel went flying and hit him head-on.
* A famous boast by Yankees owner George Steinbrenner was "I will never have a heart attack. I give them." Come 2010, [[https://i.redd.it/up1ncxnvx4h41.jpg it was time to receive]].
* The development of Nomex firesuits in the 1960s for race car drivers was brought on by the deaths of three drivers due to fire, and the lackluster protection drivers were offered at the time. The first driver to die was a NASCAR driver by the name of Edward Glenn Roberts Jr. His nickname? "Fireball Roberts!" He really should've picked a better nickname...
* At the age of 25, college basketball legend "Pistol" Pete Maravich stated in an interview, "I don't want to play 10 years in the NBA and then die of a heart attack at 40." A leg injury necessitated his retiring from basketball after 10 seasons. And he died of a heart attack, at 40.
* In a 2006 Toronto Star interview, then-Toronto Maple Leafs defenseman Wade Belak was asked where he'd be in 5 years, and jokingly replied "Dead". Belak died of suicide 5 years later, in 2011, and the interview was reprinted
* Eugene Robinson was a longtime free safety who joined the Atlanta Falcons in 1998 after having appeared in the previous two Super Bowls with the Green Bay Packers. The morning before the 1999 UsefulNotes/SuperBowl (the third consecutive he appeared in), Robinson, who had been outspoken about his Christian faith, received the Athletes in Action Bart Starr Award for outstanding Christian character. That night, Robinson got arrested for soliciting a prostitute who turned out to be an undercover cop. Robinson returned the award.
* French-Canadian UsefulNotes/FormulaOne driver Gilles Villeneuve called the Belgian Zolder circuit "a good killer" in an interview in early 1982. (meaning it would be extremely tiring in the hard-sprung cars of the time). He was killed in a crash at that track later in the same year.
* Jochen Rindt, upon winning the 1970 German Grand Prix at Hockenheim, claimed that his car was so easy to drive that a monkey could have won the race. 2 races later and Rindt was dead, having crashed the very same car. Rindt was advised a year before he died by his manager (one Bernie Ecclestone); "If you want to win, join Lotus. If you want to live, join Brabham". He joined Lotus.
* F1 journeyman Andrea de Cesaris had an unfortunate reputation for crashing often, gaining him the nickname Andrea de ''Crasheris''. Funny at the time, but now takes on a different meaning after he was killed in a motorcycle accident near his home in 2014.
* A columnist writing for the ''San Jose Mercury News'' joked in his October 17, 1989 column that, as the two teams contesting the [[UsefulNotes/{{Baseball}} World Series]] were from California (San Francisco and Oakland), an "earthquake could rip through the Bay Area before they sing the national anthem for Game 3". The Loma Prieta earthquake, the most intense earthquake in California for 35 years and in San Francisco for 80 years, struck at 5:04 pm that day... during the warm-up for Game 3.
* Declan Sullivan, a Notre Dame student, had a job filming the school's football practice from a hydraulic scissors lift. On an extremely windy day, he tweeted, "Gusts of wind up to 60 mph. Well, today will be fun at work. I guess I've lived long enough." During work that day, the lift collapsed and he died.
* "This is gonna be a spectacle. This is a great way to go out." - Dan Wheldon to ABC during pace laps of the final race of the 2011 UsefulNotes/IndyCar Series, commenting on the scale of the event and his shot at a $5,000,000 prize in Las Vegas. He would be killed from injuries sustained in a mass accident 11 laps into the race.
** "You're on board with him, and one thing he was worried about going into this race was all the dirty air..." - the ABC commentator explaining to viewers that Dan Wheldon had expressed concerns about Usefulnotes/IndyCar's controversial decision to put 34 cars on a track designed for stock cars rather than open-wheelers, Wheldon specifically worrying about the high number of cars dirtying the air, making passing harder, bunching all those cars up and making a big crash more likely. The announcer is interrupted, however, when from Dan Wheldon's on-board camera we do indeed see a crowd of cars begin crashing ahead of him in the distance, just after Wheldon crosses the line to begin Lap 11. Cut to the wide overhead shot...
* Greg Moore, injured in the paddock following an accident on his scooter the day before the final race of the 1999 CART season at Fontana, gave an interview to ESPN before getting into his car. The reporter handed back to the commentators with the words: "Greg's ready to fly today". Just under an hour later, Greg's car became airborne and hit a barrier. He was killed instantly.
* UsefulNotes/AustralianRulesFootball: In 2013, Essendon's slogan was "Whatever it takes". Then news of the doping scandal broke.
* In 2020, when the NBA announced new procedures for interviews with the media in the wake of the COVID-19 outbreak, Utah Jazz player Rudy Gobert [[https://nba.nbcsports.com/2020/03/11/rudy-gobert-touches-every-reporters-recorder-questionable-for-jazz-game-illness/ jokingly touched every reporters microphone and recorders.]] Just two days later, Gobert ended up being diagnosed with COVID-19, and the rest of the NBA season was postponed.
* [[UsefulNotes/AssociationFootball Bradford City FC's]] nearly century-old home ground, Valley Parade, had become quite dilapidated by the middle part of TheEighties, with creaky wooden stands and an accumulation of rubbish beneath the seats. While the club owners had promised to renovate the stadium, they'd dragged their feet, and the local county council sent them several pointed letters about the situation. One warned "A carelessly discarded cigarette could give rise to a fire risk." On the 11th of May in 1985, a massive, quick-moving blaze erupted in the stands at a match, killing 56 people. The investigation did indeed ultimately trace the start of the fire to a fan trying to stamp out a discarded cigarette in the stands.[[note]]The club were aware of the situation with the stand and had the material in the car park to tear down and rebuild it during the summer break.[[/note]]
* The back of the bag for the starter pack of the Panini [[UsefulNotes/EnglishPremierLeague Premier League]] 2024 sticker album sees a collage of various stickers from inside. Two of the players featured are Tom Lockyer of Luton Town and Philip Billing of AFC Bournemouth, next to each other. On December 16, 2023, Lockyer suddenly collapsed from cardiac arrest during a match between the two teams; Billing was the first person to notice that something was wrong as he was nearby. Fortunately, Lockyer survived, but it's still a spooky coincidence.
* After speedy wide receiver Henry Ruggs III was drafted by the Las Vegas Raiders in 2020, one piece of merchandise that hit the shelves was a shirt with a picture of Ruggs and the slogan "Speed Kills", a quote from late Raiders owner Al Davis. In November 2021, Ruggs, drunk at the time, got into a horrifying car accident which began with him driving driving at more than ''150 MPH''[[note]]in metric units, that's over 240 KPH[[/note]] on a city street before he rear-ended another vehicle (he tried to brake at the last second but it was far too late; he was still traveling in excess of 100 MPH just before the impact), killing a 23-year-old woman and her dog. Needless to say, the shirt was pulled from stores pretty quickly after that.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Theme Parks]]
* A popular joke on the ''Ride/JungleCruise'' has the skippers advising parents "Watch your children, or the crocodiles will". In June 2016, a two-year-old boy was dragged into a lagoon and drowned by an alligator near Disney's Grand Floridian Resort & Spa, and the cruise skippers were told to never use the joke again.
* The now-defunct Ride/BuschGardens roller coaster Python initially had the {{tagline}} "I challenged the Python and lived!" Mere weeks after the ride opened, a 39-year-old heart patient died after riding it. The tagline was subsequently retired.
* In ''Ride/WondrousJourneys'', a Ride/{{Disneyland}} nighttime spectacular celebrating Walt Disney Animation Studios' 100th anniversary, the last line of spoken dialogue has the narrator of the ''[[WesternAnimation/TheManyAdventuresOfWinnieThePooh Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh]]''-inspired segment predict, "I, for one, think what comes next will be wondrous." From the perspective of the January 2023 premiere, what would come next for WDAS was the release of ''WesternAnimation/Wish2023'', which even received a brief plug in ''Wondrous Journeys''. Unfortunately, the movie opened to underwhelming critical and audience reception.
* Mickey and Minnie's Runaway Railway opened in Disney World in March 2020 and prominently featured the song "Nothing Can Stop Us Now". A few weeks later, the COVID 19 Pandemic, did in fact stop the ride and the rest of Disney World, causing the park to close about 4 months.
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