On December 11, 2024, Jimmy Kimmel brought a bizarre story to his Jimmy Kimmel Live! show, highlighting a strange social media phenomenon surrounding the murder of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson by Luigi Mangione. Instead of the expected outrage or condemnation towards the murderer, many were strangely captivated by Mangione’s looks, leading to widespread discussions online about his attractiveness, even though he was facing serious murder charges.
During his monologue, Kimmel shared anonymous text exchanges between his staff members in which they discussed how “hot” they thought Mangione was. These texts, according to Kimmel, highlighted the unexpected fascination the public has developed with the accused killer’s appearance. One exchange read: “Do you guys think the UnitedHealthcare CEO killer is hot?” with the reply, “Yes, I love Luigi.” Kimmel used this to demonstrate the strange and surprising responses that the case had stirred within his own staff and beyond.
Kimmel then read aloud a number of other humorous and bizarre messages. One text described how people were speculating that a New York jury might find Mangione innocent because “we all love him.” Another joked about “fixing” Mangione, while another staff member discussed their desire to bake him cookies in prison, suggesting that some people were fantasizing about the killer despite his crime. There were even messages from one of Kimmel’s staff members’ husbands, who had sent a shirtless photo of Mangione, joking, “I’m about to be a jailhouse bride, cause damn, shorty is fine.”
The online fascination with Mangione has escalated, with merchandise featuring his face selling on platforms like Etsy, fan-made videos, and even a cryptocurrency named “Mangione Crypto.” Kimmel jokingly remarked that it was “bananas” and that people were now more focused on the looks of a cold-blooded murderer than the serious election coverage. “It does feel kinda good – we’re moving away from nonstop election coverage, and back to drooling over a cold-blooded murderer’s eyebrows and abs,” he quipped.
This bizarre reaction to the crime has sparked a lot of debate. Some media figures, such as former Washington Post reporter Taylor Lorenz, even expressed that the killing brought them “joy.” While Lorenz later tried to clarify her comments, her initial statement caused a wave of criticism. The media’s tendency to romanticize or trivialize violent events is something many find deeply troubling, especially when it involves serious crimes like murder.
The phenomenon has drawn criticism from many who feel it is insensitive to the victim and his family. The fact that people are turning a brutal murder into a source of entertainment has left many questioning society’s values. Critics argue that it reflects a disturbing trend in which real-life tragedies are reduced to spectacle or fascination, especially when they involve someone who has become a media figure, even for negative reasons.
However, Kimmel’s lighthearted take on the situation shows just how deeply ingrained this strange fascination has become in popular culture. The fact that his staff and others are discussing Mangione’s looks in a humorous context reveals a larger issue with how the internet and media often glorify or trivialize serious events for entertainment value. While Kimmel may have intended to make the situation humorous, it raises important questions about how society processes tragedy and violence in the digital age.
