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Oscar-winning director Michael Moore has responded after his work was referenced in an alleged manifesto by Luigi Mangione.
On December 9, Mangione was arrested on gun-related charges and is a suspect in the December 4 murder of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson.
Journalist Ken Klippenstein published the alleged manifesto, in which Mangione expressed frustration with the U.S. healthcare system, accusing insurance companies of abusing their power. He allegedly cited the works of Michael Moore and Elisabeth Rosenthal for addressing similar issues.
"Obviously the problem is more complex, but I do not have space, and frankly I do not pretend to be the most qualified person to lay out the full argument. But many have illuminated the corruption and greed (e.g.: Rosenthal, Moore), decades ago and the problems simply remain," he allegedly claimed in his manifesto.
On December 13, Michael Moore posted a lengthy Substack article titled 'A Manifesto Against For-Profit Health Insurance Companies — by Michael Moore.'
In the article, he addressed the incident, mentioning how his "phone has been ringing off the hook" since the reveal of Mangione's alleged manifesto. The 70-year-old went on to address the public anger toward insurance companies since the assassination, opining that the outpour was "1000% justified."
"It is long overdue for the media to cover it. It is not new. It has been boiling. And I’m not going to tamp it down or ask people to shut up. I want to pour gasoline on that anger," Moore continued.
Describing the healthcare industry as "broken, vile, rapacious, bloodthirsty, unethical, immoral," he explained how they allegedly cause common people mental and physical trauma despite collecting "bottomless deductibles on top of ballooning premiums."
"I condemn every one of the CEOs who are in charge of it and I condemn every politician who takes their money and keeps this system going instead of tearing it up, ripping it apart, and throwing it all away,” he added.
Reactions to Michael Moore's Substack post on X were mixed, with some supporting him and others expressing skepticism.
"I wonder what health insurance he has," a netizen wrote on X.
"Anything for press & stay relevant…. Micheal needs to go back to the rock he crawled out from…. That’s my opinion," another opined.
"Well f*ck him, killing someone isn't going to fix a broken system. They are just gonna select another CEO and carry on. No one with a sense of decency should be praising this Luigi guy as any sort of hero. The CEO was a husband and a father afterall," another person added.
Some users supported Michael Moore's points, writing:
"I'm with Michael Moore. I'm sad that it took the death of a CEO for the establishment to see how angry people are at health insurance companies. I don't expect this trash newspaper to understand the anger people feel towards the health insurance company, but the reason why Mangione is seen as a hero is because of this utter immoral health care system."
"Michael Moore’s call to “pour gasoline” on anger over the health insurance industry hits a nerve, but at what cost? While the frustration with systemic inequality is valid, escalating rhetoric risks fueling division rather than solutions. The tragedy of a life lost—whether CEO or citizen—shouldn’t become a stage for broader outrage. How do we channel justified anger into meaningful reform without losing our humanity in the process?" asked a netizen on X.
"He used to be extreme but had good points but he has just got more extreme without as much novel insight. He made himself irrelevant like most extremes on both sides," commented another individual.
Some other opinions on X are as follows:
"Stalking, then shooting someone in the back murdering them, when you have ZERO connections to them, have ZERO reasons, and you have more financial resources than they because you were born wealthy, is INEXCUSABLE and INSANE. Agreeing with the lunatic makes you as insane as them," a user opined.
"I’m amazed every day how callous our society has become. And new lows happen daily. When senators justify the killing of an executive because they’ve reached “the end of their rope “ it’s just frightening," wrote another.
"These bigmouths are always looking for others to do violence on their behalf," one user inferred on X.
Michael Moore referenced his film Sicko in his lengthy Substack article
Michael Moore talked about his documentary on the dilapidated state of the US healthcare system in his Substack piece. In the 2007 film called Sicko, Moore compared the country's for-profit non-universal healthcare system to the not-for-profit healthcare facilities provided in countries like the United Kingdom, Canada, Cuba, and France.
Directed, written, starred, and narrated by Michael Moore, the film grossed $25 million at the box office against a budget of $9 million. It was praised by fans, and critics and bagged significant nominations at several award ceremonies.
The two-hour piece was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature and the Writers Guild of America Award for Best Documentary Screenplay.
Talking about the documentary in his post, Michael Moore hypothesized that Luigi Mangione had watched it. He wrote:
"In 2007, I made a film – SICKO – about America’s bloodthirsty, profit-driven and murderous health insurance system. It was nominated for an Oscar. It’s the second-largest grossing film of my career (after Fahrenheit 9/11). And over the past 15 years, millions upon millions of people have watched it including, apparently, Luigi Mangione."
Michael Moore ended his note by imploring the readers to watch Sicko and join him in "condemning this murderous health insurance system."
Exploring what Luigi Mangione's alleged manifesto contained
Luigi Mangione addressed the federal officers in his alleged manifesto which was published by Ken Klippenstein. The 26-year-old Ivy League graduate allegedly explained that he wasn't working for anyone and respected the 'feds.'
It reportedly took "some elementary social engineering, basic CAD, and a lot of patience" for him to accomplish what he had set out to do.
In a spiral notebook, Luigi Mangione allegedly disclosed that his tech was locked down because of his engineering background. After apologizing for the trauma caused by his alleged actions, Mangione reportedly stated:
"Frankly, these parasites simply had it coming. A reminder: the US has the #1 most expensive healthcare system in the world, yet we rank roughly #42 in life expectancy. United is the [indecipherable] largest company in the US by market cap, behind only Apple, Google, Walmart."
Mangione ended the alleged manifesto by asserting that it was no longer an awareness issue and that there were several 'power games at play.' According to him, he was the first person to face the situation with 'such brutal honesty.'
