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Michael Moore, named in Luigi Mangione's manifesto, reacts to CEO murder, ‘I want to pour gasoline on…’
Michael Moore condemned Brian Thompson’s murder, but also said that the anger the health insurance industry is facing is "1,000% justified.”
Filmmaker Michael Moore has responded after reports claimed UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson’s alleged killer Luigi Mangione named him in his manifesto. Moore condemned Thompson’s murder and said he wants to "pour gasoline" on the anger the health insurance industry is facing, which he said is "1,000% justified.”
Mangione briefly mentioned Moore and former New York Times reporter Elisabeth Rosenthal in his manifesto, referring to them as people who have “illuminated the corruption and greed” of the healthcare industry. Moore is well known for his critical documentaries on societal and political issues.
‘The anger is 1000% justified’
In a column posted to Substack, Moore reminded his readers that the movies he has made have always "condemned the murder" of innocent victims of war and industry, including the healthcare industry.
Mangione ostensibly referenced Moore’s 2007 film Sicko. Noting this, Moore wrote, “In 2007, I made a film – SICKO – about America’s bloodthirsty, profit-driven and murderous health insurance system. It was nominated for an Oscar. It’s the second-largest grossing film of my career (after Fahrenheit 9/11). And over the past 15 years, millions upon millions of people have watched it including, apparently, Luigi Mangione.”
“After the killing of the CEO of United HealthCare, the largest of these billion dollar insurance companies, there was an immediate OUTPOURING of anger toward the health insurance industry. Some people have stepped forward to condemn this anger. I am not one of them,” the Bowling for Columbine and Fahrenheit 9/11 director wrote.
He added, “The anger is 1000% justified. It is long overdue for the media to cover it. It is not new. It has been boiling. And I’m not going to tamp it down or ask people to shut up. I want to pour gasoline on that anger.”
Mangione is accused of shooting Thompson dead on a sidewalk in Midtown. He is facing murder and gun charges.
Elaborating on the “anger,” Moore wrote, “Because this anger is not about the killing of a CEO. If everyone who was angry was ready to kill the CEOs, the CEOs would already be dead. That is not what this reaction is about. It is about the mass death and misery — the physical pain, the mental abuse, the medical debt, the bankruptcies in the face of denied claims and denied care and bottomless deductibles on top of ballooning premiums — that this “health care” industry has levied against the American people for decades. With no one standing in their way! Just a government — two broken parties — enabling this INDUSTRY’s theft and, yes, murder. “
Moore also condemned the murder, and asserted that he also condemns “America’s broken, vile, rapacious, bloodthirsty, unethical, immoral health care industry and I condemn every one of the CEOs who are in charge of it and I condemn every politician who takes their money and keeps this system going instead of tearing it up, ripping it apart, and throwing it all away.” He added the system needs to be replaced with “something sane, something caring and loving — something that keeps people alive.”
