Piers Morgan has condemned Saturday Night Live’s studio audience for applauding and cheering when host Colin Jost referred to the suspected UnitedHealthcare CEO killer Luigi Mangione.
During the latest episode of NBC’s hit sketch comedy show, Jost was delivering his popular “Weekend Update” spin on the news when he brought up Mangione’s extradition to New York.
Before he had even begun the joke, the audience erupted into loud cheers and applause at the mention of Mangione’s name.
Jost, who looked stunned at the response, awkwardly replied: “Yeah… definitely ‘woo’. You’re wooing for justice, right?”
Continuing the joke, Jost quipped: “Luigi Mangione dropped his extradition fight and was flown from Pennsylvania to New York to face multiple charges. In related news, Bumble exploded,” he added, referring to the dating site.
Following the episode, a clip of the moment went viral on X/Twitter, with an account by the user name End Wokeness, writing: “SNL Weekend Update mentions CEO kiIIer Luigi Mangione and the crowd applauds & cheers.”
Morgan later retweeted the post, adding: “So disgusting… and Colin Jost just smirks away as if it’s all one big giggle. Shameful moment for SNL.”
Other right-wing figures have also taken issue with the moment, including President-elect Donald Trump’s homeland security advisor Stephen Miller, who, in a tweet, called it: “Revolting. Sickening. Vile.”
Business executive and author Jennifer Sey also hit out at SNL’s audience, calling them “the dumbest group of pathetic woke conformists known to man.”
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“Here they cheer for a silver spoon/trust funder murdering a stranger with some deranged Robin Hood ‘I’m a hero’ story. Audience is moronic. And evil,” she posted.
This isn’t the first time Mangione has been mentioned on SNL. Last week, Sarah Sherman joked in a sketch: “Y’all psychos find him a sex symbol … He has women and gay guys hot and bothered.”
Mangione, 26, has been charged with stalking and murdering healthcare CEO Brian Thompson on December 4, which prosecutors described as an “act of terrorism.” He is also now facing federal charges, which would potentially allow prosecutors to pursue the death penalty should he ultimately be found guilty of murder since capital punishment has been outlawed in New York for decades.
The computer science graduate has quickly gained an online fan base among those angry about private health insurance in America, and due to his “hot” appearance with numerous social media users showing divisive appreciation for the murder suspect.
A spokesperson for the Pennsylvania Department of Corrections confirmed to The Independent that Mangione has received over 100 pieces of mail just over a week after he was taken into custody.
In addition, members of the public had already contributed more than $130,000 to fund his defense a week ago.
As of Thursday morning, he had received 54 emails, 87 pieces of mail and 163 deposits into his commissary account, an account that allows inmates to purchase items from behind bars. The spokesperson did not confirm how much money was in the account.