Ex-NY Times Reporter Lorenz Clarifies Comments on Alleged UnitedHealthcare CEO Murderer

Former New York Times reporter Taylor Lorenz has attempted to clarify remarks she made about Luigi Mangione, the man accused of murdering UnitedHealthcare executive Brian Thompson, stating that her comments focused on the mentality of his supporters rather than a defense of Mangione himself, Fox News reports.

Lorenz addressed the controversy in an interview with host Sean Hannity on Wednesday. She explained that her previous comments, where she described Mangione as a “revolutionary, who’s famous, who’s handsome, who’s young, who’s smart,” were misinterpreted as an endorsement.

“What I’m describing…is just describing the mentality of these fangirls who show up outside Luigi’s court and show up outside his jail cell,” Lorenz told Hannity. “Those girls are not me, OK? We have very separate belief systems. But I was describing how they believe.”

The controversy stemmed from Lorenz’s earlier appearance on CNN with Donie O’Sullivan, where she discussed Mangione’s support among women. Thompson, a 50-year-old father of two, was gunned down in midtown Manhattan in December.

Hannity questioned Lorenz about whether she would agree that anyone who praises Mangione lacks “a soul, a conscience and a heart.” Lorenz responded:

“Well, what I will say, Sean, once again, is that I believe in free speech. I don’t believe in things like, you know, religious things like souls and all of these things.”

Hannity pressed Lorenz to condemn Mangione’s supporters.

Lorenz also reiterated the challenges within the US healthcare system, citing that nearly 70,000 Americans die each year due to a lack of health insurance.

Mangione faces charges of using a firearm to commit murder, interstate stalking resulting in death, stalking through use of interstate facilities resulting in death, and one count of discharging a firearm that was equipped with a silencer in furtherance of a crime of violence, according to a press release from the Department of Justice. US Attorney General Pam Bondi announced in early April that she was directing federal prosecutors to seek the death penalty in Mangione’s case.