The audience at NBC’s “Saturday Night Live” crossed a deeply disturbing line when they erupted in cheers at the mere mention of Luigi Mangione, the man charged with brutally murdering UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson in New York City earlier this month.
The display was nothing short of grotesque.
During the “Weekend Update” segment, anchor Colin Jost began discussing Mangione’s extradition to New York after his capture in Pennsylvania.
“Luigi Mangione dropped—” he began before he was interrupted by cheers.
Jost, to his credit, appeared taken aback by the cheers. He flinched and looked offstage like a guy who wasn’t sure if he was being punked or not. Sadly, he wasn’t.
“Yeah, yeah, definitely, ‘Woo!’” he said with sarcasm in response to their twisted enthusiasm. “You're wooing for justice, right?”
Jost then continued the joke setup. “Luigi Mangione dropped his extradition fight and was flown from Pennsylvania to New York to face multiple charges,” he said. “In related news, Bumble exploded.”
SNL Weekend Update mentions CEO kiIIer Luigi Mangione and the crowd applauds & cheers pic.twitter.com/Hn6k2kTBp2
— End Wokeness (@EndWokeness) December 22, 2024
I haven’t watched SNL in years—not because of its political agenda, but because it hasn’t been genuinely funny in decades. Every now and then, I may catch a skit that has gone viral on social media, mostly for the novelty of being genuinely funny more than anything else. There was a time when it was a staple of weekend viewing, especially if I was a fan of the host or musical act. But those days are long gone.
For our VIPs: The White House Physician Should Be Criminally Liable for Lying About Joe Biden
Of course, the show's relentless anti-conservative bias certainly didn’t make it easier to enjoy, but this latest incident wasn’t on the cast or writers—it was on the audience. It was horrifying to hear a crowd erupt in cheers at the mere mention of an accused killer's name. It wasn’t just inappropriate; it was sickening—a moment where people seemed to revel in tragedy and violence, crossing a line no one should ever cross.
Yet, sadly it is not surprising.
The left has repeatedly elevated individuals guilty of horrific acts, excusing their evil acts by painting them as victims or even elevating them as heroes because of their victims.
Figures like Che Guevara, responsible for brutal political executions during the Cuban Revolution, are idolized as symbols of anti-imperialism, while Venezuelan dictators Hugo Chavez and Nicolas Maduro are defended despite their regimes’ economic devastation and human rights abuses.
Many on the left celebrate (and continue to celebrate) convicted copkiller Mumia Abu-Jamal. Abu-Jamal literally became a leftist icon, even as eyewitness testimony and forensic evidence confirmed his guilt.
Hollywood, too, embraces figures like Roman Polanski, who admitted to sexually assaulting a 13-year-old. Even Harvey Milk, lauded as a gay rights pioneer, has been shielded from scrutiny over his pedophilia, receiving a postage stamp, a Navy ship dedication, and a Presidential Medal of Freedom under Barack Obama.
Jost may have been surprised by the SNL audience's reaction, but after years of pandering to liberal audiences, he really shouldn't have been that shocked.
Join the conversation as a VIP Member