John Oliver On Mangione: 'Luigi Is Hot'

Alex Christy
September 22nd, 2026 10:24 AM

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For his main topic on Sunday’s Last Week Tonight, HBO’s John Oliver relentlessly attacked UnitedHealthcare. Naturally, Oliver could not do so without talking about Luigi Mangione assassinating former CEO Brian Thompson, but Oliver also made sure that it is clear that he believes Mangione “is hot.”

Oliver teed up a trio of clips of Mangione supporters by declaring, “As you undoubtedly know, almost two years ago, its then-CEO Brian Thompson was shot in midtown Manhattan while going to an investor conference. And that killing was, noticeably, not exactly met with universal sympathy. In fact, in some quarters, there was even support for Luigi Mangione, the suspect who's since admitted to the shooting.”

One Instagrammer was shown calling Mangione an “Ivy League hottie” and “is the Robin Hood that we never knew that we needed.” A TikTokker claimed, “This is like a regular, everyday person becoming our hero, our vigilante.” Finally, a grown man in a Luigi costume simply declared, “Universal health care now or free Luigi.”

 

 

Oliver has not done highlighting Mangione fans, “But that was just the beginning. A sign depicting Luigi as a saint was projected on a New York building like his album was about to drop. And supporters showed up at his arraignment dressed in shirts that said things like ‘I love Italian boys’ and ‘Cougars for Luigi.’

He then tried to claim Mangione’s status as a sex symbol is rooted in objective reality, “And, look, let's just get this straight out of the way: Luigi is hot. There's no way around that. In fact, he's so hot, they even had to acknowledge it on the news.”

In another clip, former Biden coms official-turned CNN talking head Kate Bedingfield declared, “So much of, you know, the clips we were watching at the top of this segment are driven by the fact that this is—this is an attractive person.”

Anchor Kasie Hunt interrupted to cue the control room to drop the chyron as one of Mangione’s Facebook photos was displayed on the screen, “You know, we've got to drop the banner to show why.”

Bedingfield continued, “And 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.”

Oliver did not mention Hunt by name but referenced her in his reaction, “Yeah, someone on that panel said, ‘Drop the banner,’ so viewers could understand the full extent of Luigi's attractiveness. Cheeky pecs peeking out is insufficient. We are the fourth estate, and we will show all four rows of abs.

As he prepared to launch into his wider denunciation of UnitedHealthcare, Oliver continued, “But it's not ‘just’ that Luigi was handsome. One reason many found it hard to completely condemn the murder is that so many Americans are furious with UnitedHealthcare. In fact, shortly after the shooting, when a poll asked, ‘How much responsibility do you think each of the following had for the killing?’ 78 percent said the killer held some responsibility, which, of course. But 69 percent also blamed ‘Denials for health care coverage by health insurance companies.’”

Oliver is not the first late night comedian to try to turn Mangione into a sex symbol, but, unlike Taylor Tomlinson, he is someone that liberals in and outside of the media portray as an ideal combination of comedian and journalist. However, there is no journalistic or comedic value in turning a killer into a sex symbol.

Here is a transcript for the September 20 show:

HBO Last Week Tonight with John Oliver

9/21/2026

11:04 PM ET

JOHN OLIVER: As you undoubtedly know, almost two years ago, its then-CEO Brian Thompson was shot in midtown Manhattan while going to an investor conference. And that killing was, noticeably, not exactly met with universal sympathy. In fact, in some quarters, there was even support for Luigi Mangione, the suspect who's since admitted to the shooting.

MARORITZ [INSTAGRAM]: This Ivy League hottie named Luigi is the Robin Hood that we never knew that we needed.

FINE_TEN [TIKTOK]: This is like a regular, everyday person becoming our hero, our vigilante.

ETHAN MERRIL: Universal health care now or free Luigi.

OLIVER: Yeah, Luigi had a lot of fans, many of whom—like that guy—supported him by wearing green hats. Which must be so weird for Nintendo. This guy's been Mario's sidekick for decades without controversy. It'd be like finding out every Mario Kart game had O.J. Simpson as a playable character.

But that was just the beginning. A sign depicting Luigi as a saint was projected on a New York building like his album was about to drop. And supporters showed up at his arraignment dressed in shirts that said things like "I love Italian boys" and "Cougars for Luigi." And, look, let's just get this straight out of the way: Luigi is hot. There's no way around that. In fact, he's so hot, they even had to acknowledge it on the news.

KATE BEDINGFIELD: So much of, you know, the clips we were watching at the top of this segment are driven by the fact that this is—this is an attractive person.

KASIE HUNT: You know, we've got to drop the banner to show why.

BEDINGFIELD: And 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.

OLIVER: Yeah, someone on that panel said, "Drop the banner," so viewers could understand the full extent of Luigi's attractiveness. Cheeky pecs peeking out is insufficient. We are the fourth estate, and we will show all four rows of abs. But it's not "just" that Luigi was handsome. One reason many found it hard to completely condemn the murder is that so many Americans are furious with UnitedHealthcare. In fact, shortly after the shooting, when a poll asked, "How much responsibility do you think each of the following had for the killing?" 78 percent said the killer held some responsibility, which, of course. But 69 percent also blamed "Denials for health care coverage by health insurance companies."

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