Saturday Night Live host Colin Jost appeared stunned after Luigi Mangione, the suspected killer of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson, was cheered by the studio audience.
Mangione, 26, who is now facing federal charges in addition to the New York state murder indictment already brought against him, was mentioned as part of the “Weekend Update” segment on Saturday’s show (21 December).
When Jost, who is the husband of Scarlett Johansson, mentioned Mangione’s name, it was received with rapturous applause by the studio audience, which took the 42-year-old comedian by surprise.
Looking around, unsure how to react to the applause, Jost said, with a hint of confusion: “Yeah... definitely woo.”
“You’re wooing for justice, right?” he then awkwardly asked.
Continuing the joke, Jost quipped: “Luigi Mangione dropped his extradition fight and was flown from Pennsylvania to New York to face multiple charges. In related news, Bumble exploded.”
The computer science graduate has quickly gained a fan base online due to his “hot” appearance, with numerous social media users showing divisive appreciation for the murder suspect.
As well as identifying the suspect, social media sleuths tracked down his LinkedIn, X/Twitter and even his Goodreads profiles. Almost in conjunction came memes, objectifying Mangione’s appearance.
Mangione has also received over 100 pieces of mail just over a week after he was taken into custody.
A spokesperson for the Pennsylvania Department of Corrections confirmed the news to The Independent.
As of Thursday morning, Mangione had received 54 emails, 87 pieces of mail and 163 deposits into his commissary account, an account that allows inmates to purchase items from behind bars. The spokesperson did not confirm how much money was in the account.
This was part of a busy night for Jost on the Christmas edition of Saturday Night Live.
Elsewhere, in the “Weekend Update”, Jost and his co-anchor, Michael Che engaged in the traditional joke exchange, where they are forced to read jokes their comedy partner had written, which they had never seen before.
However, nearly all of Jost’s jokes were about his wife, Scarlett Johansson, who was watching backstage, while her spouse made gags about her age, their child and their sex life.
Jost also made a very brief appearance in the cold open, which also featured Johansson, where host Martin Short was inducted into the “Five Timers Club”.
The sketch featured other celebrities who had hosted SNL five times over the years, including Tom Hanks, Paul Rudd, Tina Fey, Alec Baldwin, Kristen Wiig, Melissa McCarthy, Emma Stone, John Mulaney, Jimmy Fallon and the aforementioned Johansson.
