Luigi Mangione

Luigi Mangione is (as of December 2024) a suspect in the shooting of United Healthcare CEO Brian Thompson. Luigi is considered by many to be a hero, and since the shooting, many fans have created fanworks to show their support for the assassination suspect.
== Discussions about fandom culture ==
While a fandom-specific subculture (including fan fiction, shipping, stan culture, etc) has emerged for Luigi Mangione, support for Luigi is more widely a mainstream phenomenon, some describing him as a "folk hero" (generally under the assumption that he is responsible for the assassination) outside the bounds of dedicated fandom subculture spaces. Other than being accused of targeting the UHC CEO, Luigi is also considered a figure bringing attention to the criminal legal system and prison conditions after law enforcement imprisoned him (e.g. #FreeLuigi memes).
However, much major media attention uniformly denounces support for Mangione as an amoral fandom subculture fad based in violent fantasies, against a mainstream view that directly murdering a designated civilian individual is supposedly a violation too far, regardless of motive.https://www.businessinsider.com/luigi-mangione-content-meta-facebook-instagram-youtube-tiktok-moderation-2025-1
* Rampell, C. "Fan club for suspected shooter is a symptom of burn-it-all-down populism" (2024) The Washington Post
* BBC News 2024 The dark fandom behind healthcare CEO murder suspect
* The Telegraph: Luigi Mangione’s disgusting Gen-Z fan club makes me fear for our society’s future
* NewsNation: Could fandom cause jury nullification in Luigi Mangione trial?
=== Criticism of assuming Luigi to be the perpetrator ===
While some people are already convinced that Luigi is the person who assassinated the UnitedHealthcare CEO, others are not convinced that Luigi is the one who did it, and criticize publicizing, celebrating, and fandomizing Luigi as the perpetrator without proof. Among both those who believe Luigi is the perpetrator and those who don't, many agree that promoting the widespread assumption of a person's involvement violates their presumption of innocence and right to a fair trial.
On Archive of Our Own (AO3) as of this writing, the Luigi Mangione tag is synned to the UHC Shooter tag, despite Luigi not being convicted of the shooting, and the UHC Shooter existing as a Blank Slate original character in fan fiction before the police publicized Luigi as a person of interest.
=== Luigi supporters: serious political support, or merely lusty fangirls and other ridiculous fans? ===
There was a fandom for the assassin even before police released a photograph of their suspect's face or named Luigi as a person of interest. After Luigi's photographs and social media were widely spread, many have expressed admiration for his looks--and some have claimed or implied that his popular support is primarily based on the admiration for his looks.Friedman, V. (2024, Dec 12). "A pretty face overshadows A grisly crime". New York Times
The right-centrist"Wall Street Journal - Bias and Credibility". Media Bias/Fact Check. December 2024. business-focused newspaper The Wall Street Journal (WSJ) published an article "How Luigi Mangione Captivated the Internet", mostly describing a "fandom" fixated on sexual infatuation and profiting off a trend, supported by interviews with a few women content creators and male self-shippers. The WSJ is the largest newspaper in the United States, along with The New York Times, which published Friedman, V. (2024, Dec 12). "A pretty face overshadows A grisly crime". New York Times. Big-name entertainment shows such as Saturday Night Live and Jimmy KimmelBendix, T. (2024). Stephen colbert is surprised by luigi Mangione’s ‘Minifesto’: Best of late night. New York: New York Times Company. have also lampooned the support for Luigi as coming from such fans.
Some have objected to this characterization of the supporters of healthcare reform and/or Mangione, particularly how women and gay men are targeted, ridiculed, and dismissed as merely infatuated fans.https://old.reddit.com/r/FreeLuigi/comments/1hkrcgz/news_reporters_reducing_healthcare_reform/ 
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=== Fandom overlap with and distinctions from True Crime Community (TCC) and serial killer fan followings ===
Some claim the support for Luigi is similar to the fan following for the actually convicted serial killer Ted Bundy, with both individuals being part of the "criminal" class and having fandoms.Przeszlowski, K. (2024, Dec 18). Luigi mangione isn’t the first alleged criminal to capture many people’s imaginations – and hearts. The Conversation U.S. 
== Fanworks ==
* memes related to the fictional character Luigi (Mario series)
* "A contest for Luigi Mangione, suspect in the killing of Brian Thompson, was held at the University of Florida's Plaza of the Americas on December 13, attended by hundreds of people. Prizes included a Nerf gun for first place, a date with the organizers for second place and a $5 McDonald’s gift card for third. Cookies and candy were handed out to attendees. Some contestants made use of their time to speak about the killing and its wider context."Castro, Sabrina (December 13, 2024). "Hundreds gather at UF for Luigi Mangione lookalike contest amid murder case". The Independent Florida Alligator. Archived from the original on December 13, 2024.https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2024_look-alike_contests#December
* Another look-alike contest "took place on December 19 at the Federal University of Minas Gerais in Brazil. A post on Twitter which featured the event's flyer, featuring a head shot of Mangione as well as a photo of him shirtless, received over 1 million views."Taheri, Mandy (December 21, 2024). "Luigi Mangione's fandom goes global: Look-alike contest in Brazil". Newsweek. Retrieved December 22, 2024.
As of late December 2024, there are close to 200 works tagged with Luigi's character tag on Archive of Our Own.
== Example Fanworks ==
=== Fanfiction ===
* Three Bullets by Anonymous (Luigi Mangione/Reader)
=== Fanart ===
== Links ==
* Luigi Mangione on Wikipedia
* Luigi Mangione (character tag) on AO3, to which all variations of "HealthCare CEO assassin" are synned, despite the current lack of sentence
== References ==
Category:Fandom pages needing infobox image
Category:True Crime Fandom