Inside the internet’s obsession with Luigi Mangione: Everything you need to know

If you’ve spent any time online this week, you’ve probably seen the name Luigi Mangione popping up—and not because he’s the star of a new Netflix rom-com. Nope. Luigi, an Ivy League-educated, 26-year-old member of a prominent Baltimore family, is currently facing murder charges for allegedly killing UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson on a New York City sidewalk earlier this month.

But instead of recoiling in shock and horror, the internet has done what it does best: collectively lose its damn mind.

TikToks, memes, and tweets have been pouring in, glorifying the suspect and dubbing him the “hot assassin”. There’s even merch. Etsy shops are slapping his face on T-shirts faster than you can say “bad decisions,” and there are Spotify playlists inspired by the accused killer. I mean, nothing says “normal Tuesday” like vibing to some curated tracks while sipping your iced coffee and thirsting over a murder suspect.

X: @Becca_oneal

The internet is fully obsessed, and not just with his alleged crimes. Mangione’s shirtless selfies and brooding aesthetic have catapulted him into the bizarre new role of a problematic folk hero. Seriously, if you haven’t seen TikToks of Gen Zers swooning with captions like “Luigi, call me” or “Why are the hot ones always criminals?”, you’re clearly on the wrong side of the algorithm.

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Cultural critic Blakely Thornton explains the vibe perfectly: Americans are programmed to romanticize men who look like Mangione. He’s good-looking, clean-cut, and oozes Ivy League energy, so we’re conditioned to empathize with him—because, hey, he looks like the guy who’d star in an HBO drama, not someone facing murder charges.

This isn’t new, either. Think back to Ted Bundy (or at least the Zac Efron version) or Jeremy Meeks, aka “Prison Bae,” whose mugshot basically broke the internet. But social media has amplified the thirst, turning Luigi into yet another “hot villain” in our collective scrolling saga.

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Of course, Mangione’s alleged anti-corporate sentiments are also striking a nerve. Reports say he was carrying a handwritten note that read “these parasites had it coming,” a dig at America’s infamously broken healthcare system. Combine that message with widespread frustration over denied claims, skyrocketing premiums, and shady insurance practices, and Luigi has become a symbol of something bigger—whether people admit it or not.

X: @Nicoaesthetic

But let’s be honest, there’s a weirdly consistent pattern here. The internet loves a bad boy, and apparently, it loves a bad boy in legal trouble even more. Whether it’s Mangione, Prison Bae, or the next viral “villain,” one thing’s for sure: the collective thirst is undefeated.

So go ahead and sip your iced coffee while scrolling those memes—just remember, your FBI agent is watching, and he’s judging you hard.