within a few hours of Luigi Mangione is being charged with murder On Monday, UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson's online store was filled with T-shirts, hoodies, mugs, stickers and other merchandise praising the alleged shooter and featuring phrases such as: “In this house, Luigi Mangione is a hero. End of story.”
On Etsy, WIRED found nearly 100 listings for products bearing Mangione's name or image. These include a tote bag containing photos of the alleged shooter as well as the phrase “Mama, I love a criminal” and PDF copies of a fake cover of Time magazine, which named Mangione as Person of the Year and with the tagline “Healthcare ” shown as. “Revolutionary, leading the charge to transform global health.”
These sellers are trying to capitalize on the Internet's strange fascination with Mangione, whose good looks and privileged background have attracted her fans despite being accused of a high-profile murder in broad daylight. Researchers say the fascination with Mangione is a worrying trend, reflecting behavior that was once limited to the realms of the Internet that was becoming mainstream.
Most merchandise is being sold by print-on-demand websites, which allow anyone to design and sell a range of products. On one such site, called My Porch Prints, a seller is offering a mug featuring a heart-shaped image of a topless Mangione along with the words “I love my boyfriend.” Several print-on-demand merchants are selling a stylized version of the Luigi character from Nintendo's Mario video game, complete with a gun and a green hoodie. Another hoodie available at several online stores, including one called Chill Guy, features an image of Mangione surrounded by love hearts.
A number of different T-shirts and hoodies are also being sold on sites such as Nobel T-shirts, including designs with the phrase “Free Luigi”, while several others use the phrase “Deny, Defend, Depose”, Which is reportedly a Mangione word. Some ammunition is marked.
Finally, a T-shirt bearing the McDonald's logo with the word Mangione emblazoned on it is being sold online by custom gift shop ModParty, referencing the fact that Mangione was hired by employees of the fast food restaurant in Altoona, Pennsylvania. After being identified he was caught and the police were called.
Etsy, My Porch Prints, Chill Guy, Noble T-shirts and ModParty did not immediately respond to requests for comment.