Piers Morgan was left in shock after gleeful former Washington Post reporter Taylor Lorenz said she felt ‘joy’ following the death of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson.
On Monday night, Lorez joined Morgan on Piers Morgan Uncensored, as the broadcaster questioned her about her controversial social media posts following Thompson being gunned down in Manhattan on Wednesday.
Lorenz initially sparked outrage after she appeared to celebrate Thompson’s death, issuing a series of controversial posts on Bluesky, as one read: ‘Woke up to see this spammed in my group chats,’ Lorenz wrote alongside a celebratory image that read, ‘CEO DOWN.’
Morgan recalled that post with Lorenz and asked her: ‘Why would you be in such a celebratory mood about the execution of another human being?
‘Aren’t you supposed to be on the caring, sharing left where, you know, you believe in the sanctity of life?’
Lorenz, all smiles, replied: ‘I do believe in the sanctity of life and I think that’s why I felt, along with other Americans, joy, unfortunately.’
Morgan immediately cut her off and said: ‘Joy?! Serious? Joy at a man’s execution?’
The former journalist changed her tune slightly and said: ‘Maybe not joy, but certainly not empathy.’
Piers Morgan called out ex-Washington Post reporter Taylor Lorenz for saying she felt ‘joy’ after UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson was gunned down in Manhattan last week
Lorenz initially sparked outrage after she appeared to celebrate Thompson’s death, issuing a series of controversial posts
The British journalist continued to ask her how his death could make her ‘joyful’.
‘This guy is a husband, he’s a father, and he’s been gunned down in the middle of Manhattan. Why does that make you joyful?’
Lorenz then hit back and claimed that ‘tens of thousands of Americans have been “murdered” by Thompson,’ who she referred to as ‘greedy’.
‘So are the tens of thousands of Americans, innocent Americans, who died because greedy health insurance executives like this one push a policy of denying care to the most vulnerable people, and I am a part of the many millions of Americans that have watched people that I care about suffer and in some cases die because of lack of healthcare,’ she added.
Morgan then pushed it further and asked her if she believed all healthcare CEO’s should be killed because of her reasoning.
‘Should they all be killed, these healthcare executives? Would that make you even more joyful?,’ he asked.
Lorenz laughed and then said: ‘Uh, no,’ as Morgan asked her ‘Well, why not?’
‘Why are you laughing? You seem to find the whole thing hilarious. A bloke’s been murdered in the street. I don’t find it funny at all.’
Thompson was killed early Wednesday morning outside the Hilton Hotel in Manhattan
Lorenz then suggested that Morgan might not be able to ‘understand’ or ‘feel this reaction’ because he has ‘not dealt’ with the U.S. healthcare system.
Morgan quickly snapped back: ‘I’ve dealt with the healthcare system in various ways in America, I don’t think it’s perfect by any means, but the idea that I would view it as something joyful that a man, a healthcare executive who’s just been executed in the street, I find completely bizarre.’
As Morgan tried to move on from Lorenz, she shot back at him and said: ‘Don’t say I’m joyful.’
‘You said you were feeling joyful,’ Morgan responded.
‘Yeah, I take that back. Joyful is the wrong word,’ Lorenz said, adding that Thompson’s death still ‘feels like justice in this system.’
Morgan then asked guest Tomi Lahren to weigh in on the subject, as Lorenz was seen chuckling as she spoke.
‘Taylor, I don’t mean to be rude, but why the f** are you laughing all the time?’ Morgan asked Lorenz.
‘I don’t get it. Sorry, apologies for my language, but honestly I find it unbelievable! What are you laughing at?’
Lorenz left mainstream media recently to go independent, which means she is no longer subject to the social media rules upheld by traditional media outlets.
On Monday morning, a man detained by police in Pennsylvania in connection with the shock slaying was identified as Luigi Mangione.
Mangione, 26, is an ‘anti-capitalist’ Ivy League graduate. He was taken into custody after a McDonald’s employee in Altoona, around 100 miles east of Pittsburgh, believed they recognized him as the gunman.
On Monday morning, a man detained by police in Pennsylvania in connection with the shock slaying was identified as Luigi Mangione
He reportedly had a 3D-printed ghost gun similar to the one used in the Wednesday morning murder, along with a gun silencer, a manifesto, and four fake IDs when he was arrested by cops.
Mangione has been arrested on firearms charges in Pennsylvania. As of Monday evening, he was officially charged with murder in New York.
He was reported missing last month in San Francisco, according to The San Francisco Standard.
Aaron Cranston, a former high school classmate of Mangione, told the New York Times he and other peers were notified he was missing earlier this year as his family tried to track him down.
Cranston said the message claimed family members had not heard from Mangione for several months following a back surgery.
After his arrest, Mangione’s family issued a statement, saying they were ‘shocked’.
‘Our family is shocked and devastated by Luigi’s arrest,’ Mangione’s cousin Republican Maryland Delegate Nino Mangione said in a social media post.
‘We offer our prayers to the family of Brian Thompson and we ask people to pray for all involved.’
Mangione has been arrested on firearms charges in Pennsylvania. As of Monday evening, he was officially charged with murder in New York
The suspected gunman reportedly referenced UnitedHealthcare in the handwritten document found on him.
Luigi Mangione mentioned the $515.93 billion company in his manifesto noting the size of the company and how much money it makes, a senior law enforcement official who saw the document told the New York Times.
In the 262-word handwritten manifesto, Mangione said as UnitedHealthcare’s market capitalization has grown, American life expectancy has not.
The document condemned companies that ‘continue to abuse our country for immense profit because the American public has allowed them to get away with it.’
He reportedly wrote that acted alone and that he was self-funded.
‘To save you a lengthy investigation, I state plainly that I wasn’t working with anyone,’ Mangione said.
‘These parasites had it coming. I do apologize for any strife and trauma, but it had to be done.’
