Joe Rogan On Public Sympathy For UnitedHealthcare CEO Murder Suspect: Health Insurance A 'Dirty, Dirty Business'

The death of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson has left the internet divided, with some showing sympathy for murder suspect Luigi Mangione, who was arrested and charged in last week's shooting death.

What Happened: Following the death of Thompson, insurance companies have been in the spotlight due to the potential motive Mangione had of denial claims and high costs for health care patients from companies like UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH), the parent company of UnitedHealthcare.

In a recent episode of "The Joe Rogan Experience," podcaster Joe Rogan shared his thoughts about the murder.

Rogan suggested the public wasn't as sympathetic to Thompson and UnitedHealthcare over the murder due to the "dirty business" in which he operated.

"I think this guy, if I had to guess, was some guy who got f***ed over," Rogan said of the suspect. "Apparently, that company is really bad at denying claims."

The episode, which featured filmmaker Quentin Tarantino and producer Roger Avary, was filmed before Mangione was arrested, as reported by the New York Post.

Avary said the high denial rate for health insurance claims could be why the public is not showing sympathy for Thompson's death.

"I don' think anybody is, like, going to be crying too hard over (Thompson)," Avary said.

Rogan said that the only people crying over Thompson's death are "maybe his family, but that's about it.

"It's a dirty, dirty business. The business of insurance is f***ing gross. It's gross. Especially health care insurance," Rogan added.

Read Also: UnitedHealthcare CEO Murder Suspect: Chronic Pain, Unabomber Fascination, Isolation Details Emerge

Why It's Important: Rogan's comments come as the public has now learned that 26-year-old Mangione, a University of Pennsylvania graduate, who is charged with murdering Thompson.

A manifesto document reportedly contained comments on health insurance companies focusing on profits and greed over public health.

Mangione is fighting extradition from Pennsylvania, where he was arrested at a McDonald's, to New York. The suspect has not publicly shared a motive for the killing with which he is charged other than the manifesto that police said was found.

Mangione reportedly suffered from chronic back pain, which kept him from activities like surfing and intimate relationships. It is unknown at this time whether Mangione had personal dealings with UnitedHealthcare.

Rogan's comments about the "dirty" health insurance sector come as New York police have warned about increased threats against health care executives. Online posts have listed the names and salaries of other figures in the sector. Flyers resembling wanted posters have also popped up across New York featuring images of financial executives, prompting concerns over copycat attacks.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) shut down Facebook and Instagram accounts belonging to Mangione. X suspended the account linked to Mangione before Elon Musk worked to get it restored. The account has generated millions of impressions and has people on the internet launching crypto tokens connected to the suspect and also posting negative reviews for the Pennsylvania McDonald's location where police were called when Mangione was recognized.

Members of Congress are targeting the health insurance sector and companies like CVS Health Corp (NYSE:CVS), Cigna Group (NYSE:CI) and UnitedHealth Group could be forced to divest portions of their business if a new bill is passed.

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