The internet is lusting after a ‘hot assassin’. Are we all… okay?
The comments first started to trickle in when grainy CCTV footage of a man with a toothpaste ad-worthy smile, checking into a hostel, was shared by police. Said man in a hooded khaki jacket, the NYPD announced, was wanted in connection with the shooting of Brian Thompson, CEO of American medical insurance firm UnitedHealthcare. Thompson was targeted on his way to a shareholder meeting at 6:45am and died later that day in hospital, leaving his children without a father. Shell casings at the scene were reportedly engraved with the words ‘deny’, ‘defend’ and ‘depose’ — which many believe was in reference to the ‘three Ds’ deployed by insurers when attempting to deny someone healthcare in the US.
As images of the mysterious suspect went viral, the conversation focused less on the killing of a husband and father at point blank on the streets of New York, but more on who this apparent vigilante could be. In large part because… people thought he was hot. A ‘gunman lookalike’ contest, echoing those recently held in honour of Harry Styles and Timothée Chalamet, even took place in the city of Thompson’s murder mere days after.
Now that 26-year-old Luigi Mangione has been charged with Thompson’s murder, the thirsting for the Ivy League-educated former valedictorian has hit astronomical levels. People are deep diving into his social accounts and analysing his pop culture tastes to an excessive level (with some posts praising Mangione for his taste in books or music). TikToks refer to Mangione as ‘babygirl’ and comments like ‘Oh he’s definitely the most wanted man in America right now 😉’ or ‘Who cares if he did it! Is he single?’ under social posts of his image are impossible to miss.
There’s no doubt complex emotions surrounding America’s healthcare system have played a part in much of the response to Thompson’s death, with many sharing their own stories online of having claims rejected by UnitedHealthcare, and stats such as there being 68,000 preventable deaths each year due to profit-driven insurance firms. A statement posted by UnitedHealth Group’s Facebook account expressing shock and sadness at Thompson’s killing was greeted with over 35,000 laughing emojis in response (versus just 2,200 crying ones).
But how is it that so many of us can gloss right over the idea that someone might be a violent killer, so long as they have chiselled abs and a sharp jawline? Are we collectively assigning a moral value to the crime in question — an expression of rage against an unjust healthcare system and a railing against ‘the man’ that upholds it — or is it really as simple as ‘hot people can do no wrong’? Or are we all just having a mental breakdown after years of economic and political strife and its manifesting in a collective hysteria?
Glossing over heinous crimes because someone is conventionally attractive isn’t a new phenomenon, says psychologist Professor Craig Jackson from Birmingham City University. “Research with 'mock' jurors has found that attractive people are less likely to be found guilty than unattractive people, and are typically handed more lenient sentences.” Jackson adds that research shows jurors are more willing to accept mitigating circumstances to 'excuse' the accused's crimes if they are attractive. “The opposite is also true of those who possess unattractive qualities.”
We’ve seen it play out multiple times before, in fact: anyone remember in 2014 when ‘Hot Felon’ Jeremy Meeks’ sparked #FelonCrushFriday after he was arrested for weapon charges and his mug shot went viral? He later ended up dating late Topshop mogul Philip Green’s daughter and landing himself a fashion campaign. Then there’s the not insignificant number of women throughout history who’ve taken a shine to other convicted criminals like Ted Bundy — who, while on trial for the murder of 36 women, had ‘fans’ flocking to the courthouse daily.
There’s even a term for this curious response to a conventionally attractive criminal: hybristophilia is a paraphilia involving sexual interest in and attraction to those who commit crimes, first researched in 1986 by sexologist John Money. It’s theorised that hybristophilia could stem from a range of factors, such as a need for attention or childhood trauma leaving people attracted to those who are incarcerated as it means they are in control of their object of affection — simply, people get off on knowing where their other half is at all times. For others, this so-called ‘Bonnie and Clyde syndrome’ is linked to the romanticisation of crime, wherein the exciting and unknowable elements overrule danger, a possible loss of life and empathy for any victims.
Other biases come into play when judging those suspected of committing a crime too, says Dr Elena Touroni, a consultant psychologist and co-founder of The Chelsea Psychology Clinic, who points out that race, wealth and gender are big factors in who and what we’re willing to forgive. “A crime, like the shooting of a high-profile CEO is perceived differently than a violent act against another individual — especially when gender, class, and privilege intersect. For instance, if the victim had been a woman in a less powerful position, public sympathy for the offender would likely not be as strong. These biases highlight how societal norms shape our judgement.”
Social media offers a playground for emotion to run rife too, she adds, while logic tends to scoot over and sit quietly to one side. “High-profile crimes attract attention, but social media amplifies emotion and symbolic thinking; many are drawn to narratives of rebellion or injustice, and Mangione has become an unexpected symbol of resistance, as his case raises questions about privilege and power.” Social media, Dr Touroni observes, also allows users to project personal frustrations onto the story “creating polarised views where Mangione is either vilified or celebrated as a modern-day antihero”.
While the memes and comments might boast a particularly dark humour and even be a source of comfort to some who’ve lost loved ones or who live in pain due to health insurers not paying out, the knock-on effect of praising Mangione in this way could be incredibly severe, even resulting in further violence, explains Professor Jackson, who studies the impact of gun violence.
He notes that the number of posts “encouraging a justified-killing mentality” has been “unusually high” in this instance. “The suggestion that shell casings left at the scene quoting ‘deny, defend, depose’ quickly gave the mysterious killer a Robin Hood-like quality. He was avenging the little guy against corporate America,” the psychologist says. “One well-respected figure on X even jokingly justified how America could empathise with the killer, writing, ‘Who hasn't had a family member killed by healthcare companies?’ which irresponsibly encourages violence. Citizens are so far removed from the realities of extreme violence that such tragedy becomes content to them, ripe for commenting on.”
There is now genuine concern amongst experts like Professor Jackson that the praise Mangione is receiving could spark a wave of copycat shootings, especially given the current swell of online misogyny (which applauds violence and ‘alpha’ male traits like being financially secure and in possession of a gun) that many confused, isolated and/or angry young men are trying to wade through. Mangione was found with $10,000 in cash, a gun and reportedly a handwritten manifesto in which he apparently states “these parasites had it coming”. If it sounds like the plot of a movie or Netflix true crime series, that’s because it probably will be one day.
“The positive attention [Mangione] has received could now make this type of crime seem like an attractive option,” says Professor Jackson. “It has the risk of moving an individual from thinking about such crimes, to doing such crimes.”
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