The late-night scene was taken aback when funnyman Chris Rock, during a monologue on ‘Saturday Night Live’, shocked his audience with tactless jests about the cold-blooded assassination of Brian Thompson, the chief executive officer of UnitedHealthcare. ‘There was a killing of a family member, a father …My deepest sympathy goes out to the healthcare CEO. He was a genuine human being but often those who peddle drugs end up being shot. You’ve watched ‘The Wire’, haven’t you?’ Rock, broadcasting from Studio 8H, commented on Saturday evening.
He further expressed, ‘My heart goes out to the bereaved family. But people seem to miss the point because they are astonished by the killer’s handsome looks. If his appearance was similar to Jonah Hill, he would be in the electric chair by now.’ Rock was referring to the suspected gunman Luigi Mangione with this comment.
His offhand joke quickly earned a wave of criticism from audiences who found his straightfoward delivery unsettling. An online comment in response to the monologue reads, ‘I lost interest after the poor taste joke concerning Brian Thompson. He pretended sympathy for the deceased’s family only to follow with a jest about him being involved in drug dealing.’
Another online critique reads, ‘This is terrible. The present health care system is far from perfect, but to kill someone in broad daylight is deplorable.’ There were more harsh comments, one of which stated, ‘Making a mockery of a murder is beyond contemptible.’
Some critiques also focused on Rock’s reference to Thompson as a ‘drug dealer’, pointing out that the killed CEO never engaged with the pharmaceutical industry in that manner, hence it’s incorrect to label those working in healthcare as ‘drug traders.’
SNL decided to devote more time to discussing the shocking event, featuring Sarah Sherman, impersonating legal commentator Nancy Grace, who criticized the public’s fascination with the ‘eye-candy’ criminal. She was taken aback by the public’s enthusiastic responses toward the 26-year-old Mangione, stating that he ‘resembles Dave Franco but has eyebrows like Eugene Levy.’
Her response continued, ‘Seriously, what is happening in America? Everyone, this guy is not a heartthrob. Just to make it abundantly clear – this chap is a killer.’ A character by the name of Donnell Davis, played by Thompson, quipped in the sketch as an unemployed man, ‘In the past, a simple poem was enough to win over your girl, now you need to pen a manifesto.’ He was alluding to Mangione’s anger-laden manifesto that berated healthcare industry’s ‘Mafioso’ leaders.
Luigi Mangione, a 26-year-old graduate from the University of Pennsylvania, is suspected of executing Thompson in cold blood as he was headed towards Hilton hotel in Midtown Manhattan. Mangione led the police on a chase that lasted five days before finally being arrested at a McDonald’s in Pennsylvania following an employee’s identification and subsequent alert to the local law enforcement.
The police discovered a 3D-printed pistol complemented with a self-made silencer, a filled Glock magazine, and several counterfeit identification cards within his rucksack. A manuscript-like document addressed to ‘the Feds’ was also retrieved, which held accusations of corporate greed against health insurance enterprises.
Mangione’s extradition process to New York City from Pennsylvania could commence on Tuesday, where he will be faced with charges for the brutal homicide. The bullet shot by the unidentified weapon matched the shell casings found at the site of the crime, and Mangione’s fingerprints were found on a water bottle and granola bar wrapper discarded in the vicinity of the crime scene.
These findings were made according to local law enforcement. To defend him against allegations of murder in New York City, Mangione has managed to engage a former significant prosecutor from Manhattan.