“If you crush a cockroach, you’re a hero. If you crush a beautiful butterfly, you’re a villain. Morals have aesthetic criteria.” - Friedrich Nietzsche
On December 4th, the murder of Unitedhealthcare CEO Brian Thompson made headlines across the country. Just days later, the identification of his killer quickly overtook the media. When Luigi Mangione, 26, was arrested for the crime, both news outlets and social media expressed their opinions about his actions.
Photo from bhsthebridge.com
Law enforcement was clear that Mangione will be viewed as a calculated and coldblooded killer who callously took another man’s life. Assistant Director of the FBI New York Field Office, James E. Dennehy, is quoted in the US Dept. of Justice press release saying, “This alleged plot demonstrates a cavalier attitude towards humanity — deeming murder an appropriate recourse to satiate personal grievances.”
While law enforcement has taken a hard stance against Mangione, the opposition comes from the general public. Rather than joining law enforcement in their condemnation of Mangione's actions, the public flocked to support him. People took to defending his actions against what many believe to be a corrupt healthcare system, praising him as a hero rather than a criminal.
While many cited his “heroic” actions as their reason for supporting him, Mangione was primarily promoted by the media for being unexpectedly attractive, with many videos and stories showing him to be charismatic and charming. Social media voices jumped on this new narrative, with many users praising Mangione. Many invested citizens took to X to voice their attraction to Mangione following the release of his identity and mugshot.
User @alessabocchi posted on December 9, 2024, “Many men here think that Luigi Mangione is attractive to females because he’s an intelligent hot murderer. You don’t understand the female psyche. It’s crucial that he is a tragic hero. He suffered from an injustice and decided to sacrifice himself for a cause. Purity of heart.”
User @lun4rsurface simply said on December 16, 2024, “Luigi Mangione is my person of the year.” The adoration of Mangione continues, with one user saying on December 10, 2024, “Luigi Mangione is an ivy league italian frat boy who’s a huge bookworm loves reading comic and pokémon also does weightlifting that man is literally handmade for me and they put him behind bars.”
These examples show how, with just access to Mangione’s mugshots, old videos and social media accounts, the public narrative became that of a tragic hero who was swooned over.
This response towards Mangione is not inherently surprising. Public opinion often reflects the viewer's attraction to a criminal, with similar romanticizing being seen in cases like Wade Wilson aka the “Deadpool Killer,” Jeremy Meeks, and even Ted Bundy.
In a Psychology Today article entitled “Are Good-Looking People More Likely to Get Away with Murder?” Jen Kim explains how people are often influenced by a “halo effect” that surrounds attractive people. She explains this as “our tendency to unconsciously assign to attractive people favorable traits such as talent, kindness, honesty and intelligence.”
In the case of Mangione, this effect seems to have helped the public take his actions as a reflection of selflessness, rather than callous violence like law enforcement has stated. This adoration for Mangione from far removed social media users confuses many, however it does not necessarily strike any immediate concerns or surprise.
However, the halo effect is worth considering. With plans for Mangione to go to trial mid-February, it is important taking into account his attractiveness, charm, and charisma’s potential in light of the halo effect mentioned.
Kim continues to discuss how this halo effect has influenced cases before Mangione, referencing the work of Sandie Taylor, Ph.D. “Taylor has cited Ted Bundy, the notorious serial killer who murdered more than 30 young women, as an example of a criminal who used his good looks to lure his victims—and, at least to a point, charm jurors. ‘[I]f that forensic evidence hadn’t been there, he might well have got off, because he was quite charming and knew how to work people,’ she has said.”
With an attractive man like Mangione who has secured so much support from the public, likely in part to his looks, as the trial goes forward there needs to be an awareness between both the public and the jury. It is important to pay attention to the influence this halo effect has on people, allowing viewers and commentators to practice discernment, looking past charm or attraction to see the facts and figures of a case, first and foremost.
Whether you believe Luigi Mangione is guilty or innocent, justified or not, the physical appearance of a person has no right to influence public opinion, especially when justice is being considered. The facts and evidence should influence the case, not this potentially misleading halo of confidence that Mangione’s pleasant appearance may be projecting to the media.
Thumbnail photo from bhsthebridge.com