Following the arrest of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson‘s suspected killer Luigi Mangione, Michael Moore has penned an open letter in response to Mangione’s manifesto, which reportedly mentions him.
The Oscar-winning documentary filmmaker clarified, “yes, I condemn murder” as he noted a flood of media requests for his response to Mangione’s manifesto, which is said to cite Moore’s expertise on the country’s for-profit healthcare crisis.
“After the killing of the CEO of United HealthCare, the largest of these billion dollar insurance companies, there was an immediate OUTPOURING of anger toward the health insurance industry. Some people have stepped forward to condemn this anger,” wrote Moore in the letter. “I am not one of them.
“The anger is 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.”
He continued in part, “Because this anger is not about the killing of a CEO. If everyone who was angry was ready to kill the CEOs, the CEOs would already be dead. That is not what this reaction is about. It is about the mass death and misery — the physical pain, the mental abuse, the medical debt, the bankruptcies in the face of denied claims and denied care and bottomless deductibles on top of ballooning premiums — that this ‘health care’ industry has levied against the American people for decades. With no one standing in their way! Just a government — two broken parties — enabling this INDUSTRY’s theft and, yes, murder.”
Still, Moore didn’t defend Mangione’s actions, calling the killing “RICH ON RICH crime” as the suspect comes from a wealthy family who owns multiple businesses, including Maryland assisted living facility Lorien Health Services.
“But don’t get me wrong. No one needs to die,” added Moore. “In fact, that’s my point. No one needs to die – No one should die because they don’t ‘have’ health insurance. Not one single person should die because their ‘health insurance’ denies their health care in order to make a buck or Thirty Two Billion Bucks.”
The letter also included a free streaming link for his 2007 doc Sicko, exploring the country’s healthcare crisis and why millions of Americans are left uninsured.
Just five days after Thompson was shot dead on the early morning streets of New York City, Magnione was detained as a “strong person of interest” on gun charges Monday in Pennsylvania.