Piers Morgan is speaking out against the public’s controversial reaction to a ‘Weekend Update’ joke about Luigi Mangione.
During last night’s “Weekend Update” segment, when host Colin Jost mentioned Mangione, the prime suspect charged with the murder of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson, the audience immediately erupted in cheers, prompting figures like Morgan to quit the show to criticize.
While Jost felt uncomfortable with the crowd’s reaction as he could not finish his sentence, he responded sarcastically by saying, “You’re advocating for justice, right?”
Morgan wrote on X: “So disgusting… and Colin Jost grins away like it’s all one big laugh. An embarrassing moment for SNL.”
Jennifer Sey, an author and businessman, also responded to the cheers on social media. She tweeted at X: “The SNL audience must be the dumbest group of pathetic woke conformists known to man. Here they are cheering for a silver spoon/trust financier who kills a stranger with a twisted Robin Hood “I’m a hero” story. The audience is idiotic. And evil.”
Right-wing narratives have spoken out specifically about this moment. Stephen Miller, homeland security adviser to President-elect Donald J. Trump, captioned the video on Xwrite: “Wonderful. Sickening. Despicable.”
Mangione’s mention on “SNL” is another example of the media and world’s current fascination with him. Since his arrest, Mangione has gone viral, with many people taking interest in his Ivy League background and his manifesto opposing health care industry policies.
This isn’t the first time “SNL” has featured Mangione in a segment, either. During last week’s episode, Sarah Sherman joked, “You psychos think he’s a sex symbol… He’s got women and gays hot and bothered.”
Mangione is expected to appear in court in New York tomorrow. He is currently being held at the Metropolitan Detention Center.