Suspected UnitedHealthcare CEO murderer Luigi Mangione took the internet by storm after he was arrested for allegedly shooting and killing Brian Thompson, as social media users were quick to celebrate him and even call him attractive.
The alleged murderer was lauded as "hot," and as a "person of interest in more ways than one," in reaction to photos of him. Supporters online called him "sexy," and demanded his freedom.
Mangione, a 26-year-oly Ivy League graduate, became yet another person involved in a murder investigation whose looks drew considerable attention, such as serial killer Ted Bundy or exonerated murder suspect Amanda Knox.
The Menendez Brothers, who shot their parents in 1989 citing years of sexual abuse, became the focus of two Netflix shows, and have what Forbes described as a "bad boy effect." Jeremy Meeks became known as the "Handsome Felon" after a mug shot of the Northern California man arrested in 2014 on felony weapons charges went viral.
Psychotherapist and author Dr. Robi Ludwig, Psy.D, said Mangione had become a "folk hero" to some upset with the health insurance industry.
"Even though murder is never a good thing, it emotionally felt justified to those who spoke out online. And many people feel the industry is rigged against them, so there is an induced powerlessness when people feel vulnerable or they're trying to interact with a well-established company," she told Fox News Digital.
Regarding people discussing his looks, she remarked, "Beauty is power, and from an evolutionary perspective, people associate beauty with health and well-being, and so sometimes it takes a while for our brain to catch up. Beauty is beauty, but it doesn't necessarily mean that somebody's not murderous. It doesn't mean somebody's not good, so I think there is a trickery that happens... We are very seduced by looks and sexuality and that can blind us to what's in our best interest and who's good and who's bad."
Dr. Jonathan Alpert, a psychotherapist and author of "Be Fearless: Change Your Life in 28 Days," said people can form a "cognitive bias" based on a single attribute of a person.
"In the case of the alleged CEO killer, it's his looks," he told Fox News Digital. "People tend to make snap judgements that lead to poor decisions based strictly on this single trait. I've heard from several people siding with the killer thinking his gripe with insurance companies was legitimate, and the murder was justifiable to make a point. I ask them if they'd have the same opinion of the killer if he was ugly, and had tattoos all over his face, to which they are then silent and not sure how to respond. This is proof positive that people are in fact influenced by looks and, in the case of Mangione, are unable to reconcile his looks with his alleged heinous actions."
Far-left journalist Taylor Lorenz, whose lack of empathy and even "joy" about the murder has drawn sharp criticism, wrote on Substack that she had spoken to several people "glorifying" Mangione online and found it connected to their frustrations with the healthcare system.
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"All of them were under the age of 40, with the majority being Gen Z. They all said they’ve been touched by the healthcare system in some way, whether watching their parents or grandparents struggle to get basic care or fighting for care for themselves," she wrote.
"Every person I spoke to said they’ve completely lost faith in the two-party system and the media, which they feel is beholden to corporate interests. They’re rallying around the shooter because he seems like the only man right now willing to do something about all of it," Lorenz added.
The former Washington Post reporter joined Piers Morgan's show and said she felt joy over the murder, before backtracking slightly and saying that joy wasn't the right word.
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Comedian and host of "After Midnight" Taylor Tomlinson chimed in on Mangione's looks as well.
"All of the other late-night shows already covered the fact that everyone thinks the shooter is hot," Tomlinson said. "But I feel confident that I’m the only late night host who can honestly say: ‘Would.’"
"Do you have any idea how attractive you have to be for a McDonald’s employee to be like, ‘Wait, okay, you being in here is suspicious,'" she joked.
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CNN dropped their chyron banner on Tuesday to show Mangione's abs in a shirtless photo while discussing the alleged murderer's online fan base.
"It is deeply troubling that we are celebrating this person who’s committed cold-blooded murder because, you know, he clearly went to the gym," Kate Bedingfield, a CNN political commentator, said.
Anchor Kasie Hunt then suggested they remove the banner "to see why" much of the online obsession with Mangione was due to the fact that he is, according to Bedingfield, an "attractive person."
Alpert said the media bore some blame for the trend online of fetishizing Mangione to a degree.
"Both traditional and social media have emphasized the killer's looks --whether intentional or not, it drives user engagement and clicks," he told Fox News Digital. "We as a culture and society are looks obsessed, and this fixation might overshadow the seriousness of the crime."