Ever since Luigi Mangione was arrested last week for allegedly shooting and killing UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson, there has been a vocal contingent online that's been loudly supportive of the accused killer. Despite the cold-blooded nature of the killing, the violent act has turned Mangione into a grim meme representative of many Americans' larger anger with the country's healthcare system.
So perhaps it shouldn't come as a surprise that some fans have been getting Mangione's likeness permanently inked on their skin by tattoo artists, within just days of his Dec. 9 arrest.
Toronto-based tattoo artist Glen Robertson shared a piece he did for one client in Canada—which, interestingly enough, boasts a publicly-funded healthcare system—depicting Mangione with the words "delay," "deny," and "defend" superimposed with bullets over his face. The tribute references the words that were reportedly engraved on the bullets used to kill Thompson, in an apparent nod to 2010 book Delay, Deny, Defend: Why Insurance Companies Don’t Pay Claim and What You Can Do About It.
A TikTok user shared a short clip of a similar tattoo they got in Edmonton, Canada. Though this one didn't feature Mangione's likeness, it features the words "deny," "defend," and "depose" encased in bullets over a red rose.
@_bigpurpledino Deny, Defend, Depose by @Samet Aleksandr #luigimangione #newtattoo #calftattoo #yegtattoos #eattherich
♬ original sound - DENY DEFEND DEPOSE
Other images of Mangione-inspired tattoos have likewise surfaced on X, formerly Twitter, showing the widely-circulated surveillance images that eventually helped identify the University of Pennsylvania graduate at an Altoona, PA McDonald's last Monday. In one instance, the client even got the phrase "I [heart] my boyfriend with Mangione's likeness inside of the heart. Though, it's unclear whether the individuals got these tattoos before or after his arrest.
i just saw this tattoo of luigi mangione on instagram ???????????? pic.twitter.com/DZLT54MN9e
— vivi ????₊˚⊹ ⁴⁴ ⁶³ (@mitskigrlfriend) December 14, 2024
People are already getting Luigi Mangione tattoos ???????? pic.twitter.com/7fNlfhQheo
— Taco (@ThatDudeTaco) December 9, 2024
After Mangione's arrest, it didn't take long for people to launch fundraising campaigns to help with this legal bills, which were swiftly squashed by the crowdfunding platform GoFundMe. Likewise, e-commerce sites such as Etsy and Amazon have had to pull listings selling Mangione-inspired merchandise including T-shirts, mugs, and Christmas ornaments.
