Piers Morgan Uncensored - “TWISTED!” Taylor Lorenz CALLED OUT For ‘Fangirling’ over Luigi Mangione

Episode Date: April 15, 2025

Prominent Republicans including Ted Cruz and Elise Stefanik have condemned an arson attack on Governor Josh Shapiro’s residence - explicitly saying it doesn’t matter if it was perpetrated by someone on the left or the right, it was just wrong. It’s a marked contrast to the refusal of figures like Chuck Schumer to criticise the vandalism of Teslas by protesters angry about Elon Musk. But nothing makes this point better than the perverse celebration of Luigi Mangione, who could now face the death penalty for executing United Healthcare CEO Brian Thompson. Journalist Taylor Lorenz is among those accused of trying to turn him into a Robin Hood-type figure for his criticism of the US healthcare system, after a simpering CNN interview in which she lauded his popularity and good looks. So, does Taylor really believe Mangione is a handsome revolutionary and a moral man? Piers Morgan finds out, alongside Tomi Lahren… Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Keep reverting back to the system that makes them do it. You want me to condemn every, you know, random person in America that feels sympathetic to a serial killer? Yeah, I do. Appears I wanted to give her the benefit of the doubt. I'm sorry, Taylor. We tried. We tried to give you an out. Well, prominent Republicans, including Ted Cruz and Elise Tephanic,

have been quick to condemn an arson attack on Governor Josh Shapiro's residence, explicitly saying it doesn't matter if it was perpetrated by someone on the left or the right, it was just wrong to mark contrast to the refusal of figures like Chuck Schumer to criticize the vandalism of Teslas by protesters angry about Elon Musk. But nothing makes this point better than the perverse celebration of Luigi Mangione, who could now face a death penalty for executing in cold blood, United Healthcare CEO Brian Thompson. Well, journalist Taylor Lorenz is among those accused are trying to turn him into a modern-day Robin Hood type figure for his criticism of the U.S. healthcare system.

She's making a lot of headlines today for appearing to fan girl of Amangioni in a new CNN documentary. You're going to see women, especially, that feel like, oh, my God, right? Like, here's this man who's revolutionary, who's famous, who's handsome, who's young, who's smart. He's a person that seems like this morally good man,

which is hard to find. So does Taylor Lorenz really believe that Mangione is a handsome revolutionary and a morally good person? Well, let's find out. I'm joined now by Taylor Lorenz, founder of Usermag on Substack, and Tommy Lerrin, host of Tommy Leran as Fearless on Outkick. So Taylor, I've got to say, I watched this documentary the CNN put out, and I watched the material involving you. And I was pretty aghast at the tone that you took in relation to Luigi Mangione. because as I pointed out on X, the guy is an effing cold-bloody killer, somebody who executed somebody who's a father of two, a business executive,

and deserves nothing but public opprobrium and to be despised for what he did, notwithstanding any arguments about the current state of health care. So here's your chance to explain why you seem to be swooning over the guy. Well, I think you would have to, you know, take my comments completely out of context to say that I'm swooning over someone. If you watch the full clip and not just the part that you showed, you would see that I'm talking about the women that are standing outside Luigi's jail, showing up at court. I mean, unfortunately, peers, I have bad news for you about America, which is that we have a culture that lionizes killers. And, you know, we give them Netflix shows, right? There's fan girls for Charles Mansion, Jeffrey Dahmer, countless murderers, school shooters

receive fandom and fan mail, Gypsy Rose Blanchard, who killed her mother as a woman who received that. So, you know, the idea that there are these cults of fandoms around killers is not something new in America. And what I was describing in that clip is basically the projection that these women are sort of placing on him and how a lot of these women that do show up outside the court, you know, view him. And actually what you might not hear, me say, which is what I said right after that, which is that I do think that they're in, for a rude awakening, when Mangione starts actually talking, because I don't think he can live up to their fantasies. And I think that once he starts opening his mouth and talking about

his beliefs, I think we might realize he's not as moral, you know, of a person that as we thought. We might have complete, we don't know anything about his motivations, basically. So, you know, that's what, right, but when I was watching, right, but Taylor, when I was watching this with, with you and Donnie, Sullivan from CNN. I think he's an excellent reporter, but the tone that you were both adopting as he talked about this, I've got to say, it did not sit well with me. It was all very lighthearted, very frivolous, very, wow, isn't this all a bit of fun? Hey, these crazy girls are all swinging over managing stuff. You're talking about a cold-blooded executioner. This is not somebody that should be viewed in a lighthearted way. I mean, do you regret now the tone that that part of the interview was

to do. Well, listen, I mean, I think you can tone police all day long. Doni and I spoke for over an hour about this. And what you're watching is a few seconds of a long conversation and frankly, a long special that everybody should watch. I mean, I think what Donie produced on CNN is a fantastic look at extremism in America. And peers, you know, I would again urge you to look at American culture. We are not a culture that, you know, treats serial killers or treats murders or treats shooters the way that you are sort of speaking to it. And I agree with you. Should, you know, every conversation about Luigi be, you know, super serious because death is involved? Sure, maybe we should have a little bit more of a serious tone in some instances.

But I don't think that my tone was a huge problem in that clip because, again, what I'm doing is sort of describing the fandom, which again, as I said to you as well, I don't, that doesn't mean that I agree with these girls. that are showing up outside for God knows how many reasons, just the way that I don't agree with a lot of women that would send Charles Manson, you know, love letters or selfies or whatever. I don't think that obviously, you know, those two people had similar motivations for killing, but I'll just say again,

we don't know why Luigi Mangione has not spoken. And I think that's what's so important to note when we see what people are projecting. So just as those women are projecting on Luigi Peers, I would encourage you to actually listen to what I'm saying and not project. Okay, but people will have heard you just now, literally like two minutes ago, call him Luigi, like he's some, you know, pop star. He's not Luigi. His name is Luigi. He's not your buddy Luigi. What, what did you call? What? He's not his name here. Talk about cold-blooded. So you call executioners Louis by their first name, like some pal, do you? Gypsy Rose. You don't think people call people, Gypsy Rose Blanchard. They call her Gypsy Rose. Is that a problem? How would you refer to these people? How would you, what would you, what name would you? What name would you?

call them? I'd probably call him Maggione when I'm talking about a bloke who's literally about to go to prison for the rest of his life for a cold body execution. But Tommy, let me bring, let me bring Tommy in because Tommy's been pulling some, some exceptionally interesting facial expressions here. Tommy, it just seemed to me the tone, I mean, listen, Taylor can talk about tone police all she likes. The tone of what I watched was nauseating.

How did you feel watching it? Well, peers, I have to go back to this very show. I think it was, you know, a few months ago when we were on with Taylor and she said that she understood the joy that some people felt when this United Healthcare CEO was murdered in cold blood on New York City Street. So I'm going back to that. So I find it hard unless Taylor has had this remarkable change of heart, she was one of those fan girls, at least initially. So if she has had a change of heart, I would really love to hear it. No. No. Tony, that's not what I said. What I said is that I felt, joy that people like peers who have never had to deal with our barbaric health care system were finally waking up to the problem in America. It does not bring me joy to see anybody doing shootings on the streets because as somebody that's covered gun violence extensively, I understand that that's actually a very terrifying sign of a crumbling democracy. If people just feel like the only way to get their voice heard is through shooting. And I actually think that

that's what Donie's CNN special does very well. It unpacks the fact that so many people feel like violence is the only way to make rich people and people in power listen to them. That's concerning. The word joy was used to describe in any way a murder that some people are joyous or that the fact that this conversation is being brought to the surface. People feel joy in that. No, it was used to describe. You're happy that the conversation is being had and it took somebody's death to bring it there. But I would also say this here is when we're talking about, yeah, and again, talking about privilege and talking about never having to experience a health care system, what I'm missing here, not just with Taylor, but with others that are

fan-girling or fan-boying over Luigi Mangione is, y'all realize, right, that this is a privileged kid. This is not a kid that comes from the inner city. He doesn't come from Appalachia living in a trailer home. This is a privileged kid who murdered, by all accounts, a man who does come from humble beginnings, who was a husband and a father. And it's so bizarre. bizarre to me that the left is taking this tone. And it's not just with this case. It's with so many. It's like if you agree with the end goal here, if you agree that the health care system is bad, or if you look at what happened in Frisco, Texas with Carmelo Anthony, who is accused of stabbing a 17-year-old at a track meet, they're like, oh, well, it was a white kid. Oh, if you

vandalize or firebomb a Tesla dealership, it's okay because we hate Elon. There's always a butt. There's always an excuse. And the same thing when President Trump has had two assassination attempts on his life. The left is like, oh, well, we don't like assassinations, but we understand it, but he's a Nazi. Why is this the continued narrative from the left? It's pretty twisted. Well, Tommy, can I just say something? I agree. I agree that we're in a very scary time where I would argue on the left and the right, we're seeing increasingly violent rhetoric. And that's actually exactly what Donie's entire CNN special is about. It's about the fact that people on the left and right both feel that they cannot operate within the bounds of our democratic system to get change.

And so increasingly, you're seeing people, again, on both the left and the right, turning to violence or advocating for violence. And I think that that, as anybody that cares about democracy, should be concerned about that. And instead of tone policing, they should try to understand the outrage that people feel. I actually think the right has done a good job of speaking to people's outrage. I think Donald Trump does a good job of harnessing people's outrage. But I think that what we need to pay attention to is that, outrage across the political system and say, hey, why are so many people standing killers?

Why is one of the biggest memes on the internet about assassinating the president? Why don't we ask those questions and try to understand those things rather than having, you know, freakouts about the tone of a two-second CNN clip? Yeah, but the reason, hang on, hang on, the reason the tone matters is because when you look like you're just going along with all this as a kind of fascinating cultural phenomenon of our day. Hey, all these girls spawning of the handsome, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah. It's actually nausea. Do you imagine being the family

of that healthcare executive watching you and Donnie? And again, I like Donnie. He's a good journalist. He's from Ireland. He's like me. We're Irish. But I just didn't like the whole ton of you. Donnie replied, I once said to you, yeah, I just realized women were literally dating an assassin before they swipe right on me. That's where we're at. And you both laughed. What I didn't see, particularly from you, Taylor, was direct, unequivocal condemnation of this.

You kind of just went, yeah, isn't it? It's weird, isn't it? Rather than saying, isn't it disgusting that these women are viewing him in this light? Isn't it? Because it reminds me, it reminds me, well, hang on, it reminds me of when we had the Boston Marathon bombing. And you have the Zaniyev brothers. I was on air at CNN at the time, who had committed one of the most heinous acts of modern times in America. And what was their reward for this?

Rather than everyone hating these people, that ended up with them being the cover of Rolling Stone magazine. It was quite extraordinary. And then people again talking about, wow, aren't they good looking? Aren't they charismatic? Aren't they this? Aren't they that? No, no.

They are terrorists who bombed innocent people at a marathon. And I feel the same way about this guy, Luigi Mangione. He's not a handsome, charismatic, freedom fighter, hero. He's a disgusting human being who plotted and executed a cold-blooded execution of a father of two children.

That's what he is, and what I didn't see from you, and you can call me the tone police all you like. But where was the condemnation of this hero worship? It wasn't there. I really encourage you to re-watch Doni's entire special Misinfo Nation on CNN, I'm not talking about you. I'll talk about your bit. Well, if you see, I'm actually in, I'm not just in that clip.

I'm in other segments throughout the program. And I will say once again, I just want to stress people that I don't want to live in a country where the only way that people feel like they can be heard is through violence. I think that's incredibly dangerous. I do think people like you and others are dismissing a significant amount of institutional violence in the health care system, which is a problem. but that doesn't mean that that's excusing, you know, people that take violence in their own hands to try to change the system. I was, listen, I was three feet away from James Fields when he drove through the car and murdered Heather Hire in Charlottesville.

That was horrifying to me. People were glorifying him. People were standing him. Again, this is America. This is not a new thing for us to glorify and stand serial killers. It's just not. And it's part of our culture. And is it a good part of our culture?

No, it's probably not a great part of our culture. But we need to look at the motivations of- Probably not. Wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, sorry. Sorry to put my tone police hat on again. Oh, my God. You said probably, as if there's any, as if there's any doubt. But you go on about me being a tone police, when you say things like, I think it's probably wrong to idolize serial killers and terror. Really? Probably. Yes. Here's, it's a, okay, please, it's a bit of a rhetorical statement there. But let's just be clear. No, we don't want to live in a world where serial killers and murderers are idolized above, you know, other people that are...

Condem it. Condem it unreservedly now. Call out every single person that idolizes these killers right now. Just say I unreservedly condemn it. As I've said so many times, I unreservedly condemn the system that we've built where, you know, people feel like they have to idolize people that commit violence outside the system because they feel like that's the only way to condemn the system, but you won't condemn the people doing the idolizing.

The people doing the idolizing, you mean these random people that show up outside of his court? What do you mean? Yes, condemn it. Why is it so hard for you to condemn this? And to say, it's disgusting. It's appalling. Let me just say over and over again.

I have said so many times on this show that I don't believe people should be walking around, shooting people in the street. I think this is a very dangerous time. I think that we are seeing rising... No, I'm talking about the people that hero worship these killers. So can you just, for the record, condemn... Let me ask you a question, here.

As disgusting, the people that hear it. You keep reverting back to the system that makes them do it. But just condemn them. Just say they're all disgusting. You want me to condemn every, you know, random person in America that feels sympathetic to a serial killer? I just think it's a completely unproductive argument.

I do. We seem obsessed with me repeating a very specific language and phrase to the point that you're dismissing everything that I'm saying, which I do think peers that we can agree that neither of us wants to live in a country that the only language that is spoken is violence. And I think, again, I would encourage you to condemn the violence that we're seeing from our health care system that we're seeing these executives perpetuate. You don't condemn that.

You don't chastise that. That's not what you're out about. You're not having programs. Actually, actually, actually, that's total bullshit. I've criticized your health care system many, many, many times because I come from a country with a much superior health care system where if you fell over in the street in London and broke your leg, you would get free health care, world-class health care

and send back on your plate in a light, in a nice sling. So I don't, so you're wrong again. No, I'm bringing you. Hang on, I'm bringing Tommy. I'm bringing Tommy in now. So Tommy, it's very interesting to me, because Taylor doing her usual thing, she calls this killer Luigi, like their best buddies. She smiles her way through a lot of what she's smiling now, as if this is all most entertaining. And she cannot condemn the people who hero worship. Hang on, your name's not Tommy.

She cannot condemn the people who do all this hero worshipping, because they're all apparently victims of a system. They can't help themselves. It's perfectly normal to watch video footage of somebody executing. someone in the middle of Manhattan and deduce that they're charming, handsome heroes and freedom fighters. Do you have a problem, Tommy Lerent, in calling these people what they are? No, not at all.

And, you know, I actually get kind of sick of those, I believe, on the left. Taylor, I don't know if you're necessarily on the left. You're certainly not on the right, but saying, oh, it's a problem with the left and the right. Yes, certainly. There's violence of those on the right. I'm not going to deny that.

But it's the ability of those of us on the right with a platform, We are able to say that's wrong, that's wrong, that person's gross, that person's sick, that person's a racist, that's disgusting. I have no problem doing it, and I don't go, but you know, well, but this. Oh, but you know, I don't say a butt to that. Anybody that's going to do that. Please do your research. I thought you were journalists.

I spoke out about January 6th on January 6th multiple times, so don't come at me with that energy unless you've done your research on me. If you want to cling to January 6, you can do that all day long. I condemned it on January 6th, and I've condemned it. many, many, many times after that. Okay, so don't start with me on the one bad day for so-called conservatives. Don't comment me with that. But I have no problem talking about the racist, the awful discussing people that do things

that they believe are in the name of conservatism. I have no problem. And I don't have to be like, well, but the system. No, it's just wrong. Just in general. I don't like the 2020 election, but I can say that the people that showed up there and did anything nefarious, I can say that that's wrong and that's bad. Don't do it.

I have no problem with that. but you have spent more time talking about the system and how bad it is than talking about the people who are murdering people. Why are you unable to give it that same energy as I think the question peers that I both have for you? The health care executives that are murdering people? The health care. Yes. The health care executives, you might not like the system, but Brian Thompson didn't go out and murder anybody. So once again, she appears she's justifying it again.

She sits there and says, I believe her PR purposes, I'm not justifying. it. But then like out of the side of her mouth, she's like, but watch me justify it. You keep doing it. So Tommy, do you believe then that if Brian Thompson is responsible for murder, that that's justified? Brian Thompson might be a part of an industry or was a part of an industry before he was executed that you don't like. There are a lot of industries in the United States that I don't like, a lot of companies I don't like. It's a murderous industry. It's an industry that murders people. It's an industry that murders people. So I just want to be clear. And I think this is the discussion that needs to be had and that everybody is having is that how complicit is somebody that works in a

murderous system. If you run a baby killing factory and you know, you get shot, somebody kills you to stop the baby killing factory. Is that a moral act? That's what people are debating right now. A lot of, wait, wait, wait, Taylor, Taylor, I don't think you want to go there. I don't think you want to go there. I don't think you want to go there. I would assume peers. I wanted to ask her. I don't know her feelings on abortion. But if you're going to go down that round, I mean, there are a lot of people who don't like Planned Parenthood. I think that you and I'd probably agree that going in and murdering somebody that worked for Planned Parenthood to be wrong, right? Because you just said, oh, well, if someone was doing this, you should stop them.

What are you talking about? So that's exactly what I'm talking about. That's exactly what I'm talking about. These belief systems where people feel like murder is justified because of their belief system, right, because of their situation or their whatever, because they feel like they can't work within the system to get change, or they can't change things and fix the system through democratic means is a problem. And I think Doni, on his special, which I encourage everybody to watch,

he does a very good job of talking about extremism on the right, which is pervasive, and on the left and how basically people across the political spectrum have lost faith in the system and are turning to violence. And I'll say it again. One of the biggest means of- Taylor. It's about assassinating the president. And you're not even talking about that.

All right. All right, Taylor, Taylor, Chuck Schumer couldn't bring himself to condemn the attacks on Tesla, in terms of Tesla for courts and Tesla drivers and so on. Would you unreservedly condemn all the attacks on Tesla? Was I just on this? I think I was just on this program literally, like a week ago, talking about this topic. I don't think vandalizing a car is equivalent to taking a human life. Has anybody been murdered in pursuit of...

I just asked you if you condemn the violence against Tesla? Well, I guess if somebody was to murder a Tesla owner, yeah, I would condemn that. I think that's terrible and un-producted. So it's only murder you care about? You don't care about any other crimes? Arsson's fine, is it? No, I didn't say that. Arsum?

I literally didn't say that. So would you condemn, so do you condemn the arsonate? Do you condemn the arson attacks on Tesla? Yes or no. Ridiculous. Do I condemn what? Do I condemn arson? Because these are just absurd questions.

I was literally just on this program. Why? Tesla's literally been subjected. Tesla has been subjected to a load of arson attacks. Chuck Schumer couldn't bring himself to condemn it. Will you condemn the arson attacks on Tesla? Once again, once again, let me explain why people are turning to those, these means the reason people are, you know, attacking Tesla. You can't do it, can you?

You cannot do it. Yeah, I don't think you should. I don't think you should go on. It's fascinating. literally I'm what do you want me to say? It's fascinating. Exact language.

I don't condemn people going out Well, let me ask you this. Let me ask you this. Let me ask you this, do you condemn the arson attack on Governor Josh Shapiro's residence? Yes or no? Well, of course,

of course I don't think people should arson attack. Of course. Of course, because he's a Democrat governor. Now you can find it in yourself to condemn an arson attack. Because it involves an attack on a Democrat. But when is an arson attack on Tesla four calls, they could have killed people.

You don't care. It's the system. And by the way, you understand why people don't like Elon Musk. You've literally exposed yourself in the most priceless manner imaginable. Josh Shapiro is a human being. Tesla's are cars. By the way, again, you are ignoring the fact that one of the biggest memes on the internet right now is.

There were Tesla human beings working at the areas where they got arson attacked. Pardon? Yeah. The truth is, the truth is you make a political calculation about what you condemn and what you don't condemn. That's the truth. I don't know. You're obsessed with this, like, condemnation thing. I'm trying to get you to understand why people are turning to violence.

Yeah, I am. I am. I really am. They feel like Elon, then try to understand this, Piers. The reason that people are firebombing Teslas or whatever they're doing is because they feel like Elon Musk has been sort of taken over parts of the government as an unelected billionaire. and they feel that there is no recourse within the system. Are you justifying it again? No, I'm trying to explain to you why this is happening,

which is essential if we want to stop violence, if we want to have a less violent country. Why do you think Governor Shapiro's residence was firebombed? Do you think there may be some reason why the person did it, which can explain it, which means you don't have to condemn it? No, you just immediately condemned it without knowing any of the motivation for why that person did it. If you want fewer firebombs at people's residences and you want fewer assassination attempts in America and you want less gun violence, you need to understand why people are feeling the way they do and why they're taking the actions that they do. We're in, again, Doni's special on CNN, Misinfonation does an excellent job of breaking down extremism and has people across the political spectrum feel disenfranchised and are turning to violence.

So I encourage everyone to watch Donie Special Misinfonation on CNN. It's a great thing. And please don't say that I support the Democrats, okay? You know that that's not true, and it's just absurd. I didn't say that. I said the moment it was a Democrat that came under attack, you immediately condemned it, but you couldn't condemn fireball attacks on Tesla

because it involves Elon Musk. You can't condemn the drooling women who have fallen all over a killer because you think there may be something to do with the healthcare system. No one's firebombing their houses. No one's firebombing for houses. If somebody was firebombing,

Tommy, it's crystal clear to me that from everyone who watches this, that Taylor's condemnation is a very movable feast, and it depends entirely on the politics behind what she perceives to be the attack and why it's happened, all the drooling. Pears, I wanted to give her the benefit of the doubt, because I don't like it when things are taken out of context. It's happened to me before, and I think everyone should get a chance to explain themselves. And I think we've been listening to the explanation

for 30 minutes and it might be worse than the initial clip. So I'm sorry, Taylor. We tried. We tried to give you an out. You didn't take it. So God, you guys. God bless free speech, I guess. When more violence, well, first of all, I'm a huge supporter of free speech.

And I hope that you guys can get it through your heads that when more violence happens, I tried to warn you. So I do have to hop and get to another TV appearance. But thank you for having me on and stay safe out there. Thank you very much, Taylor. And thank you, Tommy. Here's Morgan Unscensored is proudly independent. The only boss around here is me.

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